Thunderbirds Are Go! - The Further Adventures
by homel001
Summary: In the near future of 2067, The Tracys share stories of their adventures as International Rescue continues... Rated T
1. On Guy Fawkes Night

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

On Guy Fawkes Night

by Gordon Tracy

I love Guy Fawkes night. It's one British tradition that I make sure I never miss. This year even, however, was set to be special from the start, but not always for the right reasons. I took the night off to attend of the displays at a Heritage Park in London. Lady Penelope accompanied me to it as she was... you know... my date for the evening. We had been seeing each other for almost a year now and had decided to make things official. I love spending time with her, so much so that we decided to celebrate our new found relationship after the event had ended. You should have seen the number of people who left their homes to attend this thing. Young families with their glow sticks pierced the dark cold night that surrounded us. As soon as the bonfire was lit, it became quite cozy.

We stood there near the front of the fence. I had wrapped my arms around Penelope to keep her warm as we admired the bright magnificent fire in front of us. Not once did we think that anything could go wrong. While we waited for the fireworks to start, we stood there and discussed where we were going to go afterward.

"So, where were we thinking of going afterward? Hopefully, Parker bought something to keep him occupied for a while?"

"Well, I can't get too drunk, if that's what you're thinking," Penelope said playfully. "I have a meeting to go to tomorrow and I don't want a hangover for it. Maybe we can get a take out and take it back to mine?"

"You and your takeouts." I chuckled. "Why don't invest in one and run it someday?"

She looked at me with a confused expression. "Are you serious?"

"I think "Lady P's Pizza Express" has a distinct ring to it," I added.

"Me and my takeouts?" She replied. "More like you and your Pizza."

"I'm sure I was Italian in a previous life," I said.

Just as she leaned in to kiss me, My ears tuned in to the sound of screams coming from the bonfire. I jerked myself back, prompting Penelope to listen out for the sound herself. Sure enough, the cries came again, only this time it was a distinct call for help. We battled our way through the crowd of confused people as we searched for the venue's security stewards. A steward, wearing a glow in the dark orange vest, had already seen to the source of disturbance and was trying to keep the crowds at bay. He was trying to calm a frantic woman. Penelope approached them and offered to help calm the distraught parent.

"It's okay. What's going on here? We're from International Rescue." She said.

The scared woman looked up at her. Her tear stained eyes conveyed the severity of the situation.

"I can't find my son." She said. "He wanted to get a look at the bonfire but I lost him in the crowd. The man here said that he saw a kid crawl under the fence. I hope it's not my son. Please find him!?"

Watching Penelope trying to console this poor woman made my stomach drop. I just had a hunch that her son had wandered by the bonfire and was now in serious danger. I looked out across the dark field and sure enough, there he was. This small child had wandered too far. He was just standing there, fixated with the bonfire. As I tried to guess his distance from the crowd, another steward came up to us and reported an even greater problem.

"We have a situation, we can't stop the auto sequence for the fireworks. They're primed to launch in five minutes."

"But we can't fire them. There's a kid out there!"

The sudden development sent the mother into an even bigger frenzy. I couldn't call base to help. They wouldn't have made it in time which meant that I had to improvise.

"Ma'am. I'm going to retrieve your son." I said as I walked up to them.

"Gordon, No! Are you crazy!" Penelope screamed as panic set in. "You'll never reach him in time!"

"Penelope, We can't just stand here and do nothing!" I replied as I handed her my coat. "It's now or never."

Without another word, I began to scale the fence. My International Rescue skills kicked in. It was pretty interesting in a bizarre way because I could vividly remember seeing my eyes adjust to dark within a matter of seconds. The kid remained in my sight. The dance of the flames had placed him in a trance-like state. I bolted towards him as fast as I could. It was hard to keep momentum because the ground was soggy from the day's rainfall. My clothes felt heavy. I had never done an impromptu rescue before.

As I got closer towards him, the young boy's facial features became clearer. If only he knew the danger that he gotten himself into. He skidded over to him, saving valuable seconds and scooped him up in my arms. The sudden move snapped him out of his trance as he looked up at me with confusion and fear.

"Who are you? Where's my mum?" He asked with a tremble.

"Hey. It's okay. My name's Gordon." I replied calmly. "I'm from International Rescue. Quickly. Your mum is waiting for you."

However, the boy was more concerned about something else. "Okay. Is my mum mad at me?"

I had to think of a quick answer. "She'll be happy once I get you back. Come on. Let's get you back."

Carrying him, we made the run back towards the fence. The problem was, carrying him had slowed me down even more. Sweat poured down my face along with a gradual shortness of breath. I was getting too old for this, but in hindsight, I was being a bit melodramatic. We were almost there, when all of a sudden, I slipped on the wet grass and lost my balance. The boy leaped out of my arms as I rolled along the ground. My arm hurt at that point. I had landed on it pretty bad.

"Run!" I shouted at the kid. "I'm right behind you!"

The frightened kid continued to run towards the fence that was just a few yards away by this point. I picked myself up and hurried along. When we finally reached the fence, I had the painful task of hoisting the kid on my shoulders. Carefully and cautiously, he began to climb the fence and back down towards the awaiting stewards and his mother. Despite Penelope's constant cries to get hurry me along, I didn't climb. Not until I knew that the boy had gotten down safely. Penelope called out again.

"Hurry it up! The Fireworks are going off in ten seconds!"

My Adrenaline finally caught up with me, giving me that boost to scale the fence. Just as I made it to the top, a huge explosion took me by surprise. I turned round to see the amazing, Fireworks erupt from where I had previously fallen. I climbed back down towards the crowd as the people were captivated by the spectacular colors. I watched as the boy ran into his Mother's arms. Then Penelope ran into mine. She buried her head in my chest.

"You are such an idiot." She said, looking up at me. "And I love you for it!"

I kissed her gently. "You love me for being an idiot? That's a first."

We then turned to look at the fireworks that had lit up the night's sky. While we calmed down with a hot drink, Penelope then said something that I never thought I would here.

"You know, you proved something tonight."

"Oh really? What's that?"

"You proved to everyone here that International Rescue doesn't always need the Thunderbirds and all these gadgets. Sometimes all you need is motivation and assurance with some common sense on the side."

She was right. See these events only become dangerous if you don't follow the signs. Fireworks and bonfires maybe an amazing to look at and appreciate, but the barrier fences are there for a reason. They are there for your protection. Now I'm not saying that it was the mother's fault that her son wondered over towards the fire. That's not my place to say, but it serves as a warning to what could happen. Have fun and Stay safe.

That's pretty much it. Once the show ended we went and got our pizza. There's nothing to tell after that because of... well that's private. Why don't you all stick around? I'm sure that my brothers have some interesting stories to tell.

End.


	2. Frisco Fiasco

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Frisco Fiasco

by Virgil Tracy

Sometimes, the simplest of scenarios often become the most frustrating ones. They also require an easy head, a high attention to detail and minimum swearing. They are the things that International Rescue stands by... well mostly that is. Gordon and I have recently returned from a rather stressful mission. I honestly can't wait to get it out of my system. It's not that I want to vent at you or anything so don't get that idea. I just thought it would make a nice story for this collection.

It all started when John called in to report an incident in San Francisco. I had just come back from the mainland with Kayo and Grandma, already exhausted from the tasks that they got me to do. Shopping isn't fun. It has never been nor will it ever be. I had just sat down at this point. Gordon entered the lounge with Scott as our brother in space gave us the details.

" _A small commercial Submarine has become beached on a sandbank in the bay area. She's leaking fuel and her electrical systems have failed. The family inside are starting to lose air but they have enough to last them for a few hours."_

"Have local authorities tried to rescue them?" Scott asked.

John turned to him with a grave look of concern. _"I'm afraid not. For some reason, they haven't been given permission by the port authorities to attempt a rescue. Apparently, it could disrupt shipping."_

"That's not good enough." Scott huffed as he turned to me. "Virgil, you better take Gordon and Pod Four with you. Should be right up your alley."

I could have moaned about it, but not when there were lives at stake. We are always on duty whether if we're flying our Thunderbirds or not. I beckoned Gordon to come with me as I took my launch tube down towards Thunderbird Two. The rest was pretty routine. We were ready to launch in no time. After the automated countdown, I hit the thrusters and we were on our way for the California coastline. Gordon was never one to follow the rules to the letter. He decided to make his way down to the pod to prep his Thunderbird to pass the time. I was exhausted. I was hoping to be in bed by now, but I had spent the past few years training my body to cope with fatigue to extreme levels. I could now catch a fix on a fourth or fifth wind!

So I remember the journey being shorter than I remember. We were about to cross the California landscape when John called in to give us an update.

"Hey, John. What's the update?" I asked him as I barely made eye contact with his little holographic figure.

" _I've been in contact with the port authorities. They have managed to keep the waters clear for you to work. Guess they care after all. What is your ETA?"_

"We'll be there soon I'd imagine," I replied with a yawn. "We're flying over California now. Give it another Fifteen minutes. Gordon is getting ready."

" _FAB."_

The marvelous city of San Francisco appeared over the hazy horizon. Her landmarks served as a guide for us. Our visibility began to improve as we approached the danger zone. As we flew over the Oakland Bay Bridge, I couldn't believe at how quiet the area seemed to be. The waters were clear and the nearby docks had been evacuated. What were they expecting? A massive explosion? As far as we knew, it was a simple scoop and recover mission. Losing my altitude, I brought Thunderbird Two gently over the water.

I opened the channel to my brother down below. "Are you ready Gordon?"

" _FAB. I'm all set. Let's see what we're dealing with here?"_

Releasing the pod clamps, Thunderbird Four was deployed. I pulled back slightly and remained on standby. I watched as Gordon left the pod and descended under the waves. Usually, that was it. It was my job just to wait about until my little bro gave me the signal. His holographic figure appeared me and his face displayed a look of frustration.

"Gordon, what's wrong?" I asked. "Have you located the submarine?"

 _"I have, but it's the most bizarre looking shape that I have ever seen,"_ Gordon explained as he kept his cool. _"No matter which way I turn, I can't get the grabs to hold onto it. I've approached it from three different directions now and it's just not having it."_

An oddly shaped submarine? I just had to have a look at this thing.

"Patch your Sub cam feed through. Let's see what we're dealing with here."

" _Coming up."_

A real-time image appeared next to him. I tried to wrap my head around what it was I was seeing. The submarine was oval shaped with two thin rectangular fins. They were so smooth that the grabs on Thunderbird Four kept slipping off them. I didn't believe that Thunderbird Two's crabs could pick up this thing either which meant that we were going to have to try something new. I loved trying new techniques as it would prove that our equipment could do all these new wonderful things. I had quickly developed a plan in my head for this situation. I didn't have time to work out the flaws of it though because time was of the essence.

"Okay bro, I've got an idea that we can try." I began. "I want you to knock the Submarine off the sandbank. Try and get her on her side. Then get underneath her and push her up towards the surface. She should be light enough for you to do that. Once she's on top, I'll catch her with Thunderbird Two's grabs."

Gordon shot me a puzzled look. _"Are you sure that will work, Virgil?"_

"It'll be easy just like that time you threw that beach ball from the pool and it hit Grandma up the back of the head.

" _Oh yeah. She got in my way."_ He chuckled. _"Okay, let's do this. Keep an eye on the feed will you? I'll need you to tell me when to scoop."_

"You got it." I smiled confidently.

I observed Gordon's work through the feed as Thunderbird Four got into position. She used her claws to gently flip the submarine off the sandbank. The trick was to get the Submarine in a certain spot. There was a small gap between the sandbank and a rock formation. It was just deep enough for Gordon to get underneath it. However, he had to be extra careful. If he dented the hull or rupture it's fuel tanks then we would have had it. Despite the calm surroundings, time really wasn't on our side. The trapped family now only had Twenty Minutes of oxygen left. Our time window was slowly thinning. Then suddenly, Gordon gave the word.

" _Thunderbird Four to Thunderbird Two. I'm in position. My grabs are in scooping mode."_

"Good. Now gently start your motors and push her upwards."

Gordon fired up his motors and pressed the grabs firmly into the Sub's hull. My eyes widened at the live feed. The plan was working! Gordon still had to watch his speed though. There was still a chance for it to go horribly wrong. I brought Thunderbird Two into position and activated the magnetic grabs. Remember when I said earlier that I could catch a fourth or fifth wind? Well, I needed that now more than ever because the next part of the plan required my full attention. I was going to catch thing out of the water.

Gordon was nearly at the halfway point. His grabs slowly began to slip.

"Okay Gordon, push now!"

Gordon pushed the sub with his claws and cut his motors. The ultra-light submarine pierced the ocean's surface. She was heading straight for me. I aimed the grabs and launched them, but I missed the Sub's hull by inches. I growled as I watched it hit waves again. Despite my current stress levels, I realized that we had no other alternative. We were going to have the lineup and try again. Calculating my position, I bought myself around for another try.

I was so tired that I just wanted to swing around and call it a day. I knew my bed was somewhere calling my name, but we had to get that family out of there. Another Ten minutes passed by when eventually,

" _Thunderbird Two from Thunderbird Four. Keep an eye out for her. We can't afford to miss her again. That family has almost had it."_

"FAB. Go!"

Gordon pushed the submarine again and this time, I wasn't going to miss. My hand hovered over the controls as the submarine emerged from the waves once again. I hit the lever hard, holding my breath. The grabs slapped themselves onto the oval-shaped hull. To my relief, they held. We had done it. We had actually done it. With no time to lose, I pulled the sub inside and touched down outside the awaiting port authorities. After cutting through the Sub's airlock, I was relieved to see the family alive and well. The mother had received minor bruising but she was going to be alright. I quickly retrieved Gordon shortly after before taking off for the island.

It was a very peaceful flight home. As saw the city fade in our rear view monitors, Gordon smiled at me.

"You know, I rather like tired Virgil." He said with a corny grin on his face.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh Yeah? How so?"

"Well, you seemed more in control this time." He went on. "Any other time, you would call Scott or Brains for advice. How did you know that your plan would work?"

"Just intuition I guess," I replied softly. I mean, I didn't know. I had made the plan based on a hunch.

"Yeah well, Great work bro. Maybe I should take your bed away and see if you can stay like that."

"I'll hit you if you do." I grinned.

We eventually made it home and the rest was pretty standard. The first thing I did was hit my bed. I can tell you that a pillow has never felt so rewarding before. I was happy to learn from John that the family had made a complete recovery, but I hope the designer of that submarine gets his act together because of dude, your design is crap. Just sort it out.

Anyway, that was my story. I hear that Gordon told you his little fireworks story. Perhaps one day he'll tell you the story of the time I hit him for taking my pillows. Yeah, that's right. The little sod actually did that! I've had my dressing gown as a cushion for the past few nights. Anyway, I'm going back to bed. Goodnight. Virgil out.

End.


	3. Nose Dive

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Nose Dive.

by Scott Tracy

I'm sure you've all heard about the Skythrust programme? If you haven't then I suppose I should fill you in briefly before I get down to this story. The Air Terranean company had gone bankrupt with their Fireflash fleet since the numbers of accidents had doubled. Brains was involved in a top-secret project to help design an aircraft that could fly on a safer type of fuel. It sounded crazy and far too ambitious at the time, but Brains was able to make it happen. I was able to fly him out there to witness the first flight to Paris from London. It was a complete success. Using his ID as Hiram K Hackenbacker, Brains was able to produce enough materials to make a fleet of three Skythrust aircraft's, which the company immediately put into service. However, they had gotten ahead of themselves. Not long after the planes took to the sky, Brains had discovered a fault with aircraft's engine systems. It was some sort of circuitry error which he had somehow overlooked during the design stage. He felt ever so guilty about it, but Grandma assured him that he was only human and not a computer. Despite this, he flew out to aircraft test grounds in Kent, England where the experts failed to listen to him. The idiots had no idea what was to come next.

The day had started out like any other. A Skythrust flight bound for Tokyo had hit an electrical storm. The pilots did their best to keep the passengers calm until a lightning bolt struck the aircraft and damaged her electrical systems. The crew wrestled with the controls and were able to switch on the emergency power. It wasn't enough. Only Twenty minutes, later the power cut out once again. The plane began to enter a dive towards the vibrant city of Tokyo. Fortunately for them, we had already received their coordinates as soon as they entered the storm.

1 Hour Ago...

Up in Thunderbird Five, John had made a promise to Brains by monitoring the flight's progress. As soon as he detected the storm surge, he put out a call to Tracy Island. One thing about John that I always liked what how he never took any chances. If he knew a situation wasn't going to improve, he'd snap to it. As for us, we were sitting in the standby lounge waiting for the call. Brains had been more on edge than before. He felt like his reputation was on the line. Despite trying to get him to relax, I did feel for the guy. John appeared before us and gave it to us straight.

" _Scott, you better get out there. Skythrust Two is in serious danger."_

"What's happening, John?" I asked.

An image of Skythrust's flight path appeared before us. Our jaws dropped as we watched the Skythrust enter the storm.

"Oh, that doesn't look good." Said Virgil. "Look at the current that storm is producing?"

"I know. We better get after it." I replied.

" _I'm glad we're all thinking the same thing."_ John nodded _"One bolt of electricity could easily overload the plane's computer systems. It's almost over Tokyo."_

"Then we better get a move on," I replied as I hurried to my launch station. "Brains, you go with Virgil. We're going to need Thunderbird Two."

They both replied with a simple "FAB."

After a quick launch procedure, I took off for Tokyo in Thunderbird One. I kept that baby going at maximum speed. I need to close the gap between myself and the Skythrust. Thunderbird Two wasn't far behind me. As soon as we matched our speeds, Brains called through to me with a plan that he had been discussing with Virgil.

" _Scott, I have an idea that m-might work, but to do it means taking a calculated risk."_

"Spit it out, Brains," I replied. "Calculated risks are what we do best. What's the plan?"

 _"Thunderbirds One and Two will need to get in close range of the Skythrust. I can hack into the computer systems and control her engines and landing gear remotely from Thunderbird Two. That's if we make it in time that is."_

"Hey, we'll make it. It's as good a plan as any." I assured him. "Brains, seriously it will be alright."

Brains had too much sorrow on his mind. He could never take the stress and worrying situations very well. Especially not this one.

" _Scott, I don't want to have innocent lives taken. I-I don't want to have their deaths on my conscience."_

"Pack it up, will you! Nobody is going to die today! Virgil, please tell him?" I barked as I tried to get him to keep it together. "We're arriving in Tokyo now. We better get prepared."

Now...

We were too late. Skythrust had already been hit by a lightning bolt. She was now diving towards the unsuspecting city below. We pushed our Thunderbirds to the limit in order to catch up. Unfortunately, it didn't look like we were going to execute Brain's plan after all.

" _Scott, I-I can't perform a computer hack while she's diving at that rate of speed. We need to get her level again."_

"How do you propose we do that?" I replied.

 _"I've been looking at the passenger manifest. It's an empty flight with only a few passengers on board. She should be light enough for the three of us to get underneath and push her up under the wings."_

I acknowledged his plan. "It's the only shot we've got. Thunderbird Two, you move in first and take left wing. I'll sweep in and take the right."

" _FAB. Good luck big bro."_ Virgil replied.

Thunderbird Two went first. I watched closely as Virgil carefully positioned her underneath the wing. I cautiously followed, positioning Thunderbird underneath the right wing. I gulped heavily as the wing's rotten condition loomed above my head. The wind had ripped apart of its casing away, exposing some of the hydraulics. I leveled my craft with it and gently gained height. We were now at the same angle as the plane. I could feel the hull of Thunderbird One creek and shake under the tension that was forming outside. I wasn't sure if she was designed to withstand a maneuver such as this, but I was about to find out. Brains gave the signal.

 _"Okay, boys. Gently a-add thrust and push on three...two...one... now!"_

I pushed down on the throttle. Thunderbird One's engines roared to life. As I began to push her nose upwards, the tension on the hull started to intensify. I got the impression that Thunderbird Two was experiencing the same kind friction. I was starting to get a clearer view of the city which only heightened my frustration.

"Come on! Lift!" I growled.

Suddenly, the plan paid off. I looked over to see Thunderbird Two re-emerge on the other side. We both felt our crafts slowly beginning to rise. It was working! We were pushing the Skythrust out of the dive. The horrific scratching sounds began to fade. As soon as we got her airborne again, Virgil called out to me with another idea.

" _John has called the ground crews at_ _Haneda Airport. They are standing by for our arrival. We need to keep her level enough so Brains can perform the computer link up."_

"How do we do it, Virgil?" I asked. "We can't put our crafts through that again. I seriously thought we weren't going to make it."

 _"Keep Thunderbird One underneath her underbelly. I'm going to fly over her and use the magnetic grabs to keep her stable. Once That's done, come and join me up top and do the same. We can keep her level while Brains performs the link up."_

"FAB." I huffed as I flew back underneath the disintegrating craft.

I prepared for another round of horrible tension sounds as Virgil flew into position over the main section. He lowered the magnetic grabs and secured them around the engine exhaust ports. As soon as he gave me the all clear, I shifted my position and flew up to join him. As soon as I was level with my brother, I switched on my targeting scope and activated my magnetic grabs. I fired them, snagging the cockpit section. Boy, she was heavier this way and we were getting really close to the ground by this point. Leaving the channel open, I could hear Brains tapping away at his computer panel. The foul language that came out of his mouth. I never expected to hear him say such words. Then finally just as I thought we were leaving it too late, Brains called through.

" _I've done it! I-I have established control."_

The Skythrust's engines roared to life. The pressure began to ease up, easing the tension off our Thunderbirds. Haneda Airport sat over the horizon as we prepared to drop the plane off. We had to watch our speed and rate of decent now more than ever if we were to land her safely. On a five second countdown, Virgil fired his retros. I did the same after another five seconds. So far, things were going well until...

"Virgil! The grabs are slipping! She's going to hit the runway!"

Thunderbird Two's grabs gave way, forcing the rear of the craft to skid along the runway. The weight became too much for Thunderbird One to handle to the point that I had to let her go. Releasing the cables, I watched on anxiously as the Skythrust skidded down the runway towards the main terminal building. Sparks scorched the runway. I was convinced it was going to knock over the fire crews like bowling pins. What I didn't know though was that Brains was able to deploy the emergency breaks. As soon as he did, the wings snapped off the craft and flew off in separate directions. Eventually, the Skythrust came to a smoldering stop. Sure the runway looked like a bomb had hit it, but we saved everyone. Virgil and Brains headed back to base while I stayed behind to help supervise the emergency exits. I checked in with Brains for the last time as they left. He had never sounded so relieved in his life. He was going to get an early night's sleep as soon as he got back.

It was a pretty hectic day, but I think it shows that Air Terranean has a reputation for disaster. I feel bad for the company really. All they wanted to do was dominate the commercial aviation industry. As for Brains, I think he's decided not to design anything for the company again. I don't think he could handle another scare like that. Despite the incident though, I was happy to learn that all the passengers and crew were unharmed upon landing. The flight crew had to undergo intense therapy afterwards, while the technicians carried out a thorough investigation into the Skythrust's electrical systems. You know, all that formal jargon that I won't bore you with. I still say that air travel is still the safest way to get about the world, just make sure you book with another airline. This one has a reputation to sort out.

END.


	4. Sea Of Fire

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Sea of Fire

by John Tracy

Chemical facilities often are the subject of ridicule. Usually, that's because of the safety regulations that they often break. Fire's are common in the scientific field, but this fire was completely chaotic that I thought we were really going to fail. I'm talking about the GDF security facility in Miami. I was involved in this rescue which is why I've decided to share the story with you all. I had been taking some time off on the island while Alan studied advanced astrophysics up in Thunderbird Five. I know he's well qualified anyway, but new rules meant that he was to retake them if he were to continue working in outer space. It's funny how the GDF have such an influence over our lives at International Rescue, but that's part of how the world is run in this day and age.

We were lounging down by the pool area when Alan interrupted the silence with a call. I followed Scott into the lounge, expecting him to complain about how boring it was up there, but I soon found out that that wasn't the case at all. Alan's figure floated in front of us.

" _Guys, I've just received a call from the GDF Security Facility in Miami. It's their chemical treatment works. A computer malfunction caused an electrical fire and now the whole place is an inferno! They're using all of their resources, but they're asking for our assistance."_

Scott looked at me. "Fancy a trip to Thunderbird Two, John? Get some air, a change of scenery?"

"And some soot in my face?" I replied. "Sure why not?"

Scott nodded. "Alan, alert the Commander there. Tell them that we're on our way."

By this time, Virgil entered the room. Scott threw a quick debrief at him before we made our way towards the Thunderbirds. Scott took off a few minutes later. We could hear his engines roar to life from within the hangar bay. As I was gearing up, Virgil had finished selecting the Pod that we would need for this rescue.

"We may not be a super elite fire service, but the Firefly hasn't had a spin in a while." He said as he fastened the pod into position. "Also gives us a chance to try out a new pod assembly."

"I'll look forward to it," I said nervously.

Virgil looked back at me. He could sense my emotions. "Are you alright, bro?"

"I'm fine," I assured him, swallowing my nerves. "I'm just used to being in Thunderbird Five when we go out on calls. I guess I'll never get used to it."

"You'll be fine." He replied cracking a smile. "Besides, you get to man the Firefly pod."

"Oh, fun." I sighed as we taxied out onto the launch ramp.

After what seemed to be a long and endless flight, we arrived at a scene of an inferno. The whole facility had been engulfed in flames. Scott was already on the ground trying to assess the situation, but he wasn't having much luck. Didn't we know if we were literally putting out the fire or rescuing lives in the process? We circled the scene for a while until Scott filled us in on the situation.

 _"Thunderbird Two. It seems we have a more serious situation than I thought. Two scientists are trapped in the main hangar with a vat of chemicals that are bubbling under the intense heat. The lead roof has managed to shield them from the flames and smoke, but they can't get out."_

"So what's the plan, Scott?" Virgil replied as he scoped around for a landing site.

 _"John and I will keep the fire away from the building's exterior so we can get the two scientists out, but you'll need to laser your way through the roof and take the chemical vats out with the grabs. They need cooling off otherwise they'll explode and vaporize the area."_

"FAB." Virgil acknowledged. "Leave that to me."

We set down alongside Thunderbird One. As I made my way down to the Pod, I was quickly joined by Scott. I assembled the Firefly pod first, which I then quickly leaped into. It was my job to shovel the smoldering debris out of the way and clear the path for Scott. His job was to douse the flames with our new Extinguisher pod. I crawled along the dirt ground towards the flames. You could feel the heat already. It was so intense that it felt like the hull was being cooked. Apparently, the Firefly could withstand intense temperatures on a massive scale, but I was wondering if this time would be different. I wasn't used to this. I used to the coldness of space. Switching on the heat shield, I began to shunt the rubble away. It was surprisingly easy. I always remembered Virgil complaining about how much of a stressful job it was. While I was making tracks towards the building in question, Scott was close behind me, dousing the flames with foam. We matched our speeds and kept them there. We were making a good time until Scott called through.

" _John! Watch out! The two gasoline tanks to your right are about to go up!"_

Seconds later, I was thrown about by two explosions. The force of both blasts resulted in various circuit failures. I still had power, but with the Firefly now damaged, I had to fight with the controls to keep her going. Scott could see that I was struggling. He sped up slightly and gently pushed me along with him.

" _I've got you, bro."_ He said. _"I'll keep you level while you keep your foot down on the pedal."_

"Thanks, Scott." I sighed with relief. "That was a close one."

We continued on until we arrived at the warehouse. We quickly disembarked out pods and got to work on cutting down the door. Meanwhile, Virgil had hovered above us. He had placed his Thunderbird on autopilot while he got to work on cutting through the rood top hangar door. It was taking him a while and it was beginning to cause problems. Scott and I managed to get inside and rescue the two scientists. They explained that the temperature on the vats was reaching critical. The success of this mission now rested on Virgil's shoulders. There's was nothing that we could do except get ourselves out of there. Scott took the scientists in his pod with him as there was enough room for four people. I was left to take care of the Firefly. Fortunately, the reverse mechanism was intact so I could maneuver out of there easily.

As soon as we got clear and turned the scientists over to the paramedics, Scott called Virgil for a progress report.

"Virgil? How is it going?"

" _I'm almost ready, Scott. I got the doors clear. I'm not returning to Thunderbird Two."_

"You've got to hurry, Virgil. We've just heard from the two scientists. They think that the vat could blow up at any moment. We've been able to contain the fire, but that's all."

" _FAB. Have John stay by the pod in case I need his help later."_

My help? What else could I possibly do here? I didn't even know what Virgil was going to do at this rate. As we returned to the pod to disassemble the vehicles, Virgil called through again. This time, he explained everything.

" _Okay guys, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to dip this chemical vat in the sea for a few seconds to cool the temperature down. Then I'll drop it off with Colonel Casey. She's just called me. She's standing by. Once that's done, I'll come back to pick up John and the pod."_

"FAB. Good thinking, Virgil. I'll remain here with John. I think he's in need of a cup of coffee."

"More like an Energy Drink," I replied, wiping the sweat off of my forehead.

Scott smiled. "I'll fetch you one. Just don't complain when your belly hurts later."

I was exhausted. The heat had zapped my energy. All I could do was sit there on the Pod flap and watch Virgil do his thing. I could see him over the horizon. He had the vat of chemicals with him as he took them out to sea. The facility was based on a pier so he didn't have to go far to carry out his plan. The smoke poured off the vat. I could see the chemicals bubbling violently inside. Virgil lowered his height, gently dipping the chemicals under the ocean's surface. He held them there for thirty seconds before carrying them towards the drop off site. He returned Fifteen minutes later with good news.

 _"Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird One and base. Mission complete. Colonel Casey now has the vat and she's now taking care of it. Better standby, John. I'm coming to land."_

"FAB, Virgil," I replied, slurping my refreshing energy drink. "Sorry, I'm drinking a Relentless."

" _You've got an energy drink? No fair. I want one."_

"Seriously, you both shouldn't be drinking those." Scott huffed. "I don't want to break up a fight for the bathroom again."

Virgil soon came to pick me up and the pod. As we flew back to base, I sat there reflecting the rescue. It wasn't that I missed the action or anything like that. I just really preferred the solitude of space. Sure I love being home now and again, but space was the place for me. That would be the last mission I would involve myself in for a while. I'll tell you another story sometime. Right now though, I think it's time that I relieved Alan, don't you?

END


	5. Close Call

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Close Call

by Alan Tracy

Well, I almost lost my home today. I don't think everyone has fully grasped the reality of what happened, but that's fine I guess. Today was supposed to be a simple clean-up operation. How were we supposed to know that it would become a dangerous situation? I've now got to go and give Thunderbird Three a new coat of paint now that she looks like a mess. So while I'm doing that, I might as well tell you all exactly what happened up there.

It started when Kayo, Brains and myself took a trip into space to clear the remains of an old disused space platform. It originally wasn't any of our business but John had to break the unfortunate news to us. It had drifted into range almost hitting Thunderbird Five and that made it our problem. It was just a routine job. All we had to was place three explosive charges that would break up the platform and send the debris out of orbit. We usually took it turns. It was Kayo's turn to plant the explosives this time while I got to fly the rocket. Brains came along because he wanted to test out a new invention of his. He installed a little device on Thunderbird Three but refused to tell us about it, claiming that it was a surprise.

"Brains are you going to tell us or not?" I huffed as we broke the Earth's upper atmosphere. "Seriously, you know surprises annoy me."

Kayo shot me a look. "It's so weird to hear you say that, Alan. You once used to love them. Besides, let him have his fun. In fact, treat this whole mission as fun one. That will help kill the time."

"How could any of this be fun? I hate space garbage duties." I groaned. "Seriously, Brains. I don't know why you chose to tag along. It's hardly riveting."

"F-for bot your information. I haven't come up here to have some fun." Brains said. "I've come to inspect that p-platform because I'm concerned about where it should be. As for the surprise, it'll have to wait."

I looked back at him. "For how long?"

"Until I can find the right area of space for c-conduct tests, I'm not sure."

I leaned over towards Kayo and whispered, "I'm sure he does this on purpose."

Kayo smiled as her eyes fixed in on our destination. "There it is. It's a lot closer than I thought.

I turned to get a better look at the space platform. She was right. As we flew closer towards it, I gulped heavily. There was something very foreboding about it. This space platform was once used to supply fuel and other goods to the first deep space shuttles. Grandma would tell us how our Dad would often dock there to gather supplies for the Martian colony in which he was stationed at. Shortly after Dad went missing and his friend, Lee Taylor took charge of operations on the Moon, the GDF took over the space programme and ordered it's cancellation. Now, the platform floated there like a ghost in space. Dark, damaged and silent. It was eerie.

Brains took a look at the layout which he had made before take off. He instructed us to place the charges on the three docking platforms. I had a rough of idea of what he was thinking.

"Okay, Kayo. I-If you place the explosive charges in these areas, then we can create a spiraling effect. The platform should then spiral out of Earth's gravitational field and drift off into space. Once you've finished, I'll d-detonate them in an anti-clockwise direction."

"FAB. I'd better get my gear on." Kayo replied as she made her way to the airlock. "Keep her close Alan until I get back."

Slinging the charges over her back, Kayo began her spacewalk. When she arrived at the platform, she started gently fixing the charges one at a time. She was a fast worker. The whole thing only too her Twenty minutes. It would have taken me longer. When she returned, I fired up the thrusters and flew us to a safe area outside of the calculated blast zone. Brains activated the automatic detonator and started the countdown. Now sitting in a room or cockpit with Brains can be very unnerving. He can never relax or assure you that a mission is going to succeed. Something always had to go wrong in his mind. He was doing that again while we were waiting for the countdown to finish. Then suddenly, nothing happened. The countdown had finished only there were no explosions to follow it.

Before we could assess the situation, the third charge exploded followed closely by the first charge. They were detonating in the wrong order! Brains checked the computers and sure enough, there was a malfunction.

"What's happening!?" Kayo shouted. "The platform is spiraling out of control!"

"The c-computer sequence failed to detonate charges in the correct order." Brains explained. "That platform is now spiraling in the wrong direction!"

"We better track where it is heading," Kayo suggested. "We'd better get going after it, Alan. I'll update John in case it gets serious."

"FAB," I replied as I spun the ship around.

Thunderbird Three's power jets enabled us to catch up with the renegade platform. The second charge then detonated in front of us, causing us to shield our eyes. It was so unexpected that the three of us jumped. However, the explosion shifted the platform into another course. Brains original projections had shown it passing the planet and out into space. Now, it was causing a major problem. Brains quickly calculated the platform's new trajectory.

"Oh n-no! The platform is now heading for Earth's atmosphere!"

"And it's picking up speed!" I added. "That final explosions increased its rate of speed. I wasn't expecting to go this fast you know."

"I'm going to submit this to John. See if he can pinpoint the impact zone." Kayo said as she opened a channel to Thunderbird Five. "John, can you hear me?"

John appeared over the transmitter. Kayo gave him a rundown of the situation, transmitting the platform's trajectory. It didn't take long for EOS to get a fix on the impact zone. John looked at us with a look of urgency.

 _"Guys, we've calculated the platform's impact zone. At its current speed, will hit the South Pacific Ocean in under an hour."_ He reported. " _EOS checked it over. It's going to hit Tracy Island on the nose. The problem is it keeps speeding up by the minute because of its rate of decent. You've got to do something!"_

"We'll never reach it in time!" I replied. "Perhaps Scott and Virgil could intercept it from the ground?"

"That's too dangerous. Their Thunderbirds were not designed to fly and intercept at such a steep angle." Brains replied. "O-Our best chance is to take it out while it's in the Earth's atmosphere."

"Well, how are we going to do that exactly!?" I snarled as frustration quickly set in. "It's not like we're armed with canons or anything!"

Kayo placed her had on my shoulder. "Alan, calm down. We'll save the island and avert disaster. Believe me. I think I've just worked out what Brains surprise is."

Brains raised an eyebrow as Kayo threw him a smug look.

"It's a canon isn't it?" She said. "You've stated for a while how you wanted the Thunderbirds to have defensive weapons since the TV-21 incident. Please tell me I'm right?"

Brains cracked a smile. "Y-You're absolutely right, Kayo. I did indeed build and install a plasma particle cannon."

That sly son of a gun! He finally did it. The only thing was that I had no idea where it was or how to use it.

"Alright, Brains. How do we use it?"

"U-Use the old auxiliary control unit. I converted it I-Into the canon's control console. A-Activate it and it should work instantly."

Kayo did just that as she made her way over towards the computer. After the touch of a button, as three small canons flipped outwards from the three pylons. The irritating sound of targeting scanner beeped away. Kayo targeted the platform and primed the weapon. Suddenly, we were rocked violently in our seats. We had entered the Earth's atmosphere. The cabin temperature began to rise as Thunderbird Three began to burn up. I had a fight on my hands to keep her steady. That last thing we wanted to do was to nose dive.

"Kayo! Fire now!" I yelled.

Kayo pulled the trigger. The canons burst to life as they hurled bright purple bolts of plasma at the disintegrating platform. She hit it on target, breaking it up into smaller pieces. However, we could see the island in the distance. The surrounding ocean filled the cockpit windows. We were leaving it fine and Kayo still had two targets to hit. She rotated the canons and established a lock on the second piece. She fired another barrage of plasma projectiles, sending it into oblivion. Brains gave her a time check.

"K-Kayo! Two minutes to impact!"

"I can't get a lock on it!" Kayo yelled. "Our angle is too steep. You've got to pull up, Alan!"

"Already...on...it...!" I screamed.

I felt an intense surge of pain shoot through my arms as I pulled back on the nose. It felt like I was ripping my muscles to shreds. Somehow though, I was able to swing us up slightly, just enough for Kayo to fire at the last piece. She fired, successfully blasting it into the heavens. All we had to do now, was pull out of the dive, But we were too low. We were now just seconds away from hitting the Island ourselves. I pull back on the nose. Kayo climbed over Brains to assist me. She forced herself into the co-pilots seat and assisted me.

"Come on, baby!" I cried. "COME ON! LIFT!"

Thunderbird Three pulled up, narrowly missing the Island's highest peak. The left engine clipped the peak top, scratching the paintwork. We quickly regained control. The heat in the cabin began to decrease.

"We did it." I sighed as I wiped the sweat from my brow. "That was too close."

Kayo reached over and threw her arms around me, pulling in for a hug.

"Alan, you will always be the terrific pilot." She said as she kissed me on the cheek. "I hope John was witnessing this?"

John's image appeared once again. _"I saw the whole thing. Well done Thunderbird Three. The others actually ran into the bathroom of all places. I guess we should install an emergency shelter."_

"The bathroom?" I laughed. "What were they going to do? Huddle in the bathtub? I'm pretty sure they aren't spaced debris proof."

"They probably thought the toilet was asteroid proof as well." Kayo smiled. "Come on, let's go home. Thunderbird Three could us a fresh lick of paint."

"And at least we k-know that my experiment worked." Brains added. "I can now make the updates to the other Thunderbirds."

We eventually landed and made our way to the lounge. Scott didn't know where to be angry or relieved. He just kept pacing the lounge trying to calm his nerves. Gordon wouldn't stop bear hugging me. He had too many E numbers in his system. Brains returned to his lab to begin his upgrades and Kayo went to bed. That evening was the most well-deserved rest ever. It was an intense moment for the family. I can tell you that much. Anyway now, I better get on with this paint job. We're due to head out to our ranch soon to test these upgrades to our equipment. Apparently, Scott has something to say to us as well but he said he'd inform us once we're out there. I'll see you around folks.

END.


	6. Trouble On Mars

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Trouble on Mars

by Kayo Kyrano

Mars. I never thought we would ever go there again. I never thought I'd get the opportunity myself. The colonists there had done such a fine job that I thought they would never need any assistance again. I was wrong. This would be the first time had been to Mars in years and it would be a trip that I would never forget. It started when John received an SOS call from Commander Lee Taylor who was an old friend of Jeff's and the family. He had been promoted to Commander of the colony there after he prevented a disaster there during its early months. He explained that their supplies were running low and that the robot ship that had been sent to deliver food to them never showed up. After a discussion with Scott about the situation, he agreed that International Rescue would make the delivery run. He had asked me to accompany him and Alan for the trip as I hadn't had anything better to do. Spaceflight wasn't always my thing, but who could pass up an opportunity to visit the red planet? Besides, it would have been interesting to see how the colony there was getting on. Virgil had set off in Thunderbird Two during the early hours of the morning to collect the cargo. As soon as he returned, we loaded up Thunderbird Three and took off for the stars.

After what a long and tiring journey, we finally arrived at the planet and got to work on finding the designated landing site. Scott and Alan took turns piloting so they could have equal rest periods. Despite its reputation for being the planet of war, Mars sure looked beautiful. I immersed myself in the cosmic spectacle while Scott put out a call to Taylor.

"This is International Rescue calling Martian Alpha. Request permission to land?"

Taylor's image appeared before us. He had aged rather well in the seven years since we last saw him.

" _International Rescue. Thanks for the assist. We've cleared launch pad Two for you. Why don't you all come on down? Welcome back to Mars."_ He said with his brand of warmth and charm.

We all looked at each other with amusement. Taylor always knew how to make anyone feel welcome no matter where he was stationed. Mister Tracy always loved that about him. Thankfully it was a quality that remained with him. Alan fired the retros and took us into the atmosphere. As we flew under the cloud line, we spotted the colony base. It stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the red dusty Martian surface. We gently touched down on the pad and proceeded to unload the supplies. Alan remained on board to help the colonists unload the supplies while I accompanied Scott to the base control room. It was impressive. The colonists here had enough computers and cameras to cover the entire planet. There was scientific equipment everywhere. Taylor greeted us in his usual manner.

"Scott, Kayo. It's awesome to see you both again." He said. "We can't thank you enough for the supplies. Did the GDF ever tell you why the original flight never made it here?"

"Well no we didn't. I figured that you knew?" Scott replied.

Taylor's expression shifted. "It doesn't make any sense. We've been experiencing a string of mysterious activity in the area. It all started when two of our colonists went out to survey a canyon and discovered life."

"Wait, you mean that they discovered alien life?" I replied intrigued.

"In a sense, yes, but it's not life as we would know it. They reported seeing what they described as animals and requested permission to study them. When they came back, they showed me photos that they had taken of the animals. Then after that, we had reports of fireballs erupting from the canyon itself. Coincidently, the robot ship flies over the canyon and it's then never seen again."

"Where are these animals now?"

"We don't know. Two of our Martian biologists went out looking for them over Eight hours ago. So far, they've failed to report in."

"Can we help?" Scott asked.

Before Taylor could reply, one of the radio operatives called out to him from the far side of the room.

"Commander! I'm picking up an SOS beacon. It's Phoebe!"

"Who's Phoebe?" I asked.

"She's one of the biologists that hasn't returned," Taylor explained as he looked at the signal's location. "It's coming from the canyon. Something is going on."

"Then let's unload the Pod explorer from Thunderbird Three and get out there," Scott said as we ran out of the control room.

Several minutes later, Scott and I took off into the Martian landscape. Our Pod explorer had been modified to withstand extreme elements on various planets. We followed the route that Taylor had transmitted to us and followed it to the letter. We eventually arrived at the canyon. It was eerie. That is the only way I can describe it. It pulsated a menacing vibe which told our instincts to get dive in, grab the biologists and get out of there again. We both looked at each other and held our breaths. It didn't take us long before we spotted Phoebe. She had been hiding under a small rock formation, huddled in a ball. She sobbed away as we approached her.

"Phoebe? Take it easy. It's okay." Scott said calmly as he gently placed his hand on her back. "We're from International Rescue."

She looked up at us with her tear soaked face. "They've gotten him. Lucas went in and he never came back!"

"Lucas?" I asked. "Scott, he must be the other biologist. I'll go and look for him."

For some reason, this set Phoebe off even more. "No, you can't! They're out there!"

"Who? Who are out there?"

"The Rock Snakes!"

Scott took her back to the Pod explorer where she then began to compose herself and explain everything.

"We found a family of giant Snake-like creatures that lived in the canyon. We nicknamed them Rock Snakes because their skin texture and color matched the Martian rock formations. We accidentally woke them up when we were taking rock samples back for categorizing."

"What happened next?"

"Well, we got separated. One of the snakes fired on us. We found out that they have the ability to breathe fire. Unfortunately, we learned it the hard way. I managed to get away, but I wasn't able to find Lucas."

"I'll go in and find him." I said "Stay here with her, Scott. I'll keep a channel open."

"FAB." He replied. "Good luck."

I cautiously made my way back into the canyon. I could hear movement from within as if something was stirring. It was enough to make my hairs stand on end. My eyes would mistake the low lighting and awkward terrain for shadows moving about in the distance. It just made my search harder than I anticipated. As I pressed further on, my eyes began to adjust to the darkness. I had reached the other end of the canyon alright. This part felt more exposed than the other side. It was then that I stumbled across a mile of rocks that look like they had recently landed there. A motionless figure lay there buried amongst the rocks. His features came into view as I approached. It was Lucas. He had been knocked unconscious by the whatever happened to him. His space suit had been damaged. His oxygen control gauged flashed wildly in the darkness. He only had Thirty Percent of air left in his tanks. After quickly pulling him free from the pile, I got to work on fixing his airline. I screwed in a replacement air tank which I had taken from the pod explorer and proceeded to lift him over my shoulder.

That's when I suddenly reacted to a sound from above. I looked up and saw the most incredibly terrifying thing ever. A giant, dusty red, snake creature towered above us on the top of the canyon. It's bright red eyes connected with mine as it made a loud hissing growl. Before I could react, a second snake appeared behind the first one. Its mouth opened, showing nothing but a dark mouth. A light began to shine from within its mouth. It was charging up something. I could smell charred smoke from around the snakes. These were the creatures that attacked the biologists and it was now going to attack us. These were the so-called Rock Snakes of Mars. With Lucas in town, I made my way out of the canyon back toward the awaiting Pod explorer. The two snakes started spitting fireballs at me. I could feel the intense heat from each of those blasts as they hit the canyon around us. The pod explorer eventually came into view. As I climbed the rocks and looked back, I could see that the two snakes were following me and I had no doubt that they were going to chase us all the way back to the base. Scott could see these things by the point and rushed out to help me.

"Get in!" He shouted. "Quickly!"

We floored it out of there, quickly making tracks towards the base. The Rock Snakes continued to pursue us. Their fire blasts rocked the pod explorer, forcing Scott to fight the controls. Phoebe attended to Lucas while I put out an emergency call to Alan.

"Pod explorer to Thunderbird Three! Alan, get Commander Casey to evacuate the base. We're on our way back. We've got two Martian Rock Snakes on our tail and they are going to tear the base apart!"

Alan's figure shot me a puzzled look. _"I'm sorry, Rock what?"_

"I'll explain later! Just get those people out of there. MOVE IT!"

Alan didn't argue. It seemed like the snakes had gained distance as we made the final run towards the base. We made the quick decision to head straight for Thunderbird Three and hope to rendezvous with the escape ship once it was free. I glanced over at the base and watched in relief as the escape ship blasted off into space. We piled ourselves into Thunderbird Three and ordered Alan to blast off despite the fact that we were still in the pod explorer. Scott climbed his way into the cockpit while I helped Phoebe secure Lucas in the passenger module. The Rock Snakes took out their fury on the base. A fire bolt hit the main reactor plant, sending to smithereens. The blast caused a chain reaction which traveled across the base. It never stood a chance. It was heartbreaking. As we took off for the atmosphere, I looked down to see the two Rock Snakes hissing and growling amongst the inferno. What had become a simple supply run had now become a tragic act of nature.

We eventually rendezvoused with the escape ship, quickly contacting Commander Taylor. The man was fuming. The veins on the side of his head looked like they were ready to explode.

 _"Thanks for the warning, International Rescue. However, this wouldn't have happened if Phoebe and Lucas hadn't have wandered far and disturbed the local wildlife! They've just cost Seven years worth of work and resources! I ought to send them out to the cosmos if I had my way! Just what are we going to do now!?"_

"You'll work it out eventually, but screaming your head off at these two won't help the situation," Scott replied. "We'll escort you back to Earth and will even help you file a report, but I think it's obvious that despite the age we live in, Man just can't prepare itself for Mars. I suggest that you all rethink that in the future."

Scott was right. Perhaps despite the age of advanced technology, man still wasn't ready to colonize Mars. Perhaps we had gone the wrong way about it the whole time. As we escorted the escape ship back to Earth, I couldn't help but sit there and think about those giant snakes that we had left behind. Lucas eventually made a full recovery in a GDF maximum security hospital. Phoebe was never reported or tried for her part in the events. The whole disaster was reported as an ecological disaster. As far as I know, further missions are planned to go back and study the Rock Snakes there. After all, they are just aliens who might have felt threatened by us. When we define the term, we always associate them with being little green men who fly flying saucers. Well, it's not always the case. We encountered Martian animals who were just defending their home. We should respect animals of all species just like how we should respect our own. It seems, we still have a lot to learn.

END.


	7. Confessions From The Past

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Confessions From The Past

By Alan Tracy

Who would have thought that a simple hiking trip would turn into a personal trip and a fight for survival? That's exactly what happened when Kayo and I accompanied John on a hiking trip around the island. It was his day off and we persuaded him to take the time to go out and get some fresh air. However, that wasn't what happened at all. As we arrived at the far end of the island, a huge electrical storm rolled in. It took us all by surprise as the forecast for the day said that we would be in for clear skies. Rainfall hit the island, making the trail hazardous for us. We made the split decision to find shelter until the storm had passed over us. We found a nearby cave that was big enough to fit the entire family so we headed on inside soaked and cold. After a while, it appeared that the storm was going to stay for a while so John decided to get a small fire going. Then suddenly, danger struck from out of nowhere.

Nature's fury didn't want us to be comfortable. A huge lightning bolt struck the island, loosening the rocks above the cave entrance. John dived for cover while Kayo threw me out of the approaching rock fall. I smacked my head on the gravel, splitting my lip and cutting my cheek. Eventually, the rocks stopped falling. Everything went dark and ever so silent. I reached for my flashlight to see where everyone was. My head was pounding at this point. It all happened so fast. John picked himself up off the ground. He had received the same number of cuts and bruises as I had but overall he was okay. As I shone my flashlight on Kayo, my heart sank into my gut. She had been knocked unconscious and was buried under the rock fall. Without hesitating, I climbed over towards her and checked her pulse.

"Is she alright!?" John asked. "Is she alive!?"

"She's breathing! But it's faint." I replied, trying not hyperventilate. "Kayo... please wake up. Come on. Talk to me?"

"We need to get her to the hospital, but first we need to find a way out of here," John said as he felt around the cave wall. "I think I can pull away some of the loose rock here. If can make a hole big enough, I should be able to fit through it and send a call for Thunderbird Two."

"Okay, John. Just be careful okay? We can't trigger another rockslide."

John placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Just make her comfortable bro. Stay calm with her. We'll soon get out of here."

Kayo's eyes opened and quickly realized the situation that she was in. All she could see was me staring at her as I placed my jacket under her head for comfort.

"What... what happened?" She murmured. "I can't... move."

"Hey lie still. It's going to be okay." I replied calmly as I held my water flask to her lips. "Drink this."

"Where's John?" she asked.

"He's gone to look for help," I explained as I sat down beside her. "Some hiking trip huh. Who knew a storm could leave us in such a predicament?"

"It's possible I guess." she replied wincing at the pain she had to endure."I feel so cold...and tired. Aren't you tired?"

I placed my tattered jacket over her in an attempt to keep her warm.

"Just stay with it, Kayo. I'm right here." I said as she swigged some water from my flask. "I've always been here. Just like the old days."

Kayo smiled. "You always did know how to look after me. Even since we were kids and you were a toddler, you always took a shine to me."

"Of course I did." I sighed. "It was tough growing up when we were kids. Especially when Dad went missing. Scott and John were always studying, Virgil and Gordon always mucked. I never really had much bonding experience with them until International Rescue was founded."

"Doesn't explain why you took a shine to me though. I mean, I was always the fish out of water as a child. I had to deal with bullies from every school that I attended which was why you father adopted me after my parents went missing. I found it hard to adjust on the island. Come to think of it. Still, somebody must have been watching over me. What with the mysterious birthday cards, the birthday and Christmas presents that I thought I'd never receive because I never told anyone about them. I remember when I was invited to my first party. It was the year before we went into operation and I had a date. It was the worst night ever because he decided to dump me. Do you remember that?"

"Oh, I remember. Scott had a whale of a time at that party."

"Yes well, I remember going into my room and just seeing this bouquet of flowers sitting there on my dressing room table. There was no name on them. Just the words "Because you are special."

Eight years later, and I figured it was about time I confessed to her the truth. "Yes well, I always remembered they were your favorite kind."

She looked at me with a look of surprise. "Wait. That was you?"

"Well with Grandma's help actually, but the note was from me," I explained nervously. "I was a smitten Thirteen-year-old teenager who's first crush happened to live with me. I was smitten with you since I was old enough to even like girls. I always learned these things about you. What you liked, what your favorite music was and I took it onboard because I always wanted you to feel at home. Despite my teenage hormones at the time, I always wanted you to feel that you belonged with us.. with me... the family I mean. Sorry, I ramble on when I get nervous."

"I can't believe you would do that for me." She said faintly.

"Of course I would. I would have done anything for you." I replied as I stared at the floor. "In some respects, I still would. It's just with International Rescue playing a huge part in our lives now, I guess I haven't really had the time to tell you. Sometimes I think I'm just being creepy."

"Alan, you've really blossomed into a caring young man. I always pegged you as the cheeky little sod but that title belongs to Gordon. I never knew you felt this way about me at all. I just don't know why you could have told me sooner."

"Probably because I felt that it was just a phase that I would grow out of. You've become like a sister to me. I love you just like everyone else. It's funny really how it's taken seven years and a cave in to get me to bring this all up."

Suddenly, Kayo's eyes began to flutter. Her words began to disappear. I leaned in towards her and stroked her hair. I had to keep her talking.

"Stay with me," I said in desperation. " Look at me. Look at me, Kayo."

Her eyes opened again. This time, they connected with mine. Where was John? He had been gone for what felt like ages. I was scared that Kayo wasn't going to hold on for much longer. Sure she is always a fighter but my heart leaped into my mouth. I just wanted her to stay with me.

With a gentle whisper, she replied "Keep talking, Alan. I want to hear more."

"I don't know what else there is to say," I replied. "Just know that I'm going to be here with you."

Then suddenly, Kayo's eyes began to fill with tears. "Alan. I'm scared. I'm scared that I'm not going to make it. This pain is unbearable."

I slid my body down next to her and gently rested my head next to hers.

"You can fight this," I whispered. "We can fight this together. You're doing really well as it is. Just keep calm and keep drinking."

We sat there in the dark for the next few hours, reminiscing about the good old days. It helped her take her mind off the pain until John returned with Virgil who had come equipped in his mechanic crabbing claws. The three of us gently lifted the rocks off of Kayo until she was free of the pile. I picked her up and carried her out towards Thunderbird Two which sat up ahead. She began to lose consciousness again as we took off back to the villa.

She spent two weeks in recovery with a broken leg and a few broken ribs. She spent most of that time feeling sorry for herself but I made sure that she had the company. She had spent the first few nights asleep. When she first arrived at the medical bay, she had lost a lot of blood and had suffered from malnutrition. I spent many of those hours at her side making sure that she wasn't alone. I think I overdid it though. Sometimes, Gordon or Scott would come in to make sure that I got some sleep myself. Then one morning, I entered the room to see how she was. To my surprise, she had regained her appetite. Her broken leg had been wrapped in a huge cast and she now had band-aids on her face. I pulled up a chair and sat next to her.

"Gordon tells me you've been looking after me." She said with a smile. "I'm sure you're trying to impress me now."

"I just couldn't sleep half of the time. My head hurts when I lay down." I replied. "It's nice to see you're eating again."

Kayo somehow saw through the curtain of anxiety which I hid behind.

"It's alright Alan. I've been thinking about what you said back in the cave as well."

"You have?"

"Yes. We've grown up together like brother and sister. Nothing can change that, but I've had to ask myself something. Why couldn't I have just found a guy like you?"

"You deserve the world. It doesn't matter if my romantic feelings get in the way or not. You were the first girl who entered my life. You'll always be special to me. I know that nothing like that is going to happen between us now that we're adults and that it would be too weird. I wouldn't expect that of you anyway."

Kayo paused.

"But, I guess I'll always be protective of you. Hell, I got the smitten part nailed down rather well." I continued. " Wow, I don't even know where I'm going with this sentence. Everything is just so confusing."

Kayo reached out and grabbed my hand, stroking it gently. She smiled at me and simply said.

"Alan, whatever you do. Never say never. After today, you might just be surprised at what happens next."

And with that, she let go of her hand and yawned. I planted a kiss on her cheek before I left her to rest. John had been given the all clear but decided to spend the rest of his time off back up in space. I don't think he'll want to take up any more hiking adventures anytime soon. Scott and Virgil decided to cordon off the peaks for a while fearing that there could be future rock falls. Gordon went back to being a jerk but that's just him. As for me though, I couldn't sleep for love nor money. Sure I felt better now that I had seen her awake at last, but my feelings had intensified at this point.

I spent the next day thinking about those words. What surprise was I in-store for? What did she mean? I guess for now I'll never know because it's always all systems go with International Rescue. Yep. Things are about to look up for Alan Tracy over here. Hopefully beautiful things.

END

END.


	8. Antarctic Anarchy

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Antarctic Anarchy

By Gordon Tracy

(Adapted from the Thunderbirds comic strip "Ice Floe" by Alan Fennell)

Sometimes, a rescue situation can unfold just a few miles away. If we hadn't been in the area at the time then things could have taken a chaotic turn. This is the story of what happened. Now I hate Arctic conditions. Even when we have to fly out there to test new equipment. Scott, Virgil and I had been testing Thunderbird Four's thermal coating under the ice plains of the Antarctic. It meant an early start to the day but I took comfort in the fact that we'd be done before dinner. We happened to be conducting these tests on Thanksgiving. Not really ideal but it had to be done I suppose. As I took my Thunderbird into the icy depths of the sea, an event was unfolding just ten miles away. An unidentified craft appeared on Virgil's scanners so Scott went to check it out. I could hear them over an open channel as their figures flickered away in front of me.

" _Virgil, I've checked out the craft in question. It's just a cargo Skim-Jet heading for the nearby science platform. Nothing to worry about."_

 _"FAB. Well, that about wraps it up here. Surface when you're ready, Gordon."_

Will do, Virgil." I replied. "It's so cold down here, I could hug Grandma's piping hot turkey let alone eat it."

Virgil chuckled. _"Yeah don't. Squid and Turkey don't really go well together."_

As soon as I surfaced, Virgil picked me up. We headed for base, thinking that that would be the end of the day. Naturally, that wasn't going to happen. Thirty minutes later as we were about to cross the Pacific ocean, John called through with a distress call. I had just warmed up in my thermal blanket, preparing my empty stomach for the succulent thanksgiving dinner that awaited us and then John had to come along and spoil the moment. To be fair to him though he did have to make an impromptu trip back up into space. This really wasn't going to be fun for anyone.

Virgil took the call. "Hey John, give us the bad news. What's going on?"

 _"Virgil, turn around and head back to Antarctica. We have received a distress call from the science research platform out there. One of their cargo Skim-Jets has gone down and is beached on the ice. The ice is starting to crack under its weight due to its heavy cargo onboard."_

"Has the Science platform attempted to a rescue yet?" I asked.

" _They were able to launch a rescue patrol out to them but the only escape hatch is submerged in water. The main threat is the cargo that the Skim-Jet is carrying. There are Forty containers of hazardous chemicals. If they are released then they can cause an ecological disaster the northern hemisphere has ever seen."_

"FAB. Tell them we're on our way. No doubt that Scott is already on his way there."

So we swung around and headed back towards the cold bitter ice sheets of the Antarctic. Of course, I was going to have a moan about it. I now had to trade my thermal blanket for a cold wet cabin again. As we arrived at the scene, I noticed how quiet the area seemed to be. The Skim-Jet sat there with its rear landing legs elevated in the air. Black smoke poured out of its engine thrusters. Three small rescue jets had landed next to it. They began to take off one at a time as Thunderbird One hovered overhead. Scott came through to give us the update. There was something more sinister at work here.

" _Thunderbird Two, I have just spoken to the security officer at the platform. They report that the Skim-Jet was sabotaged by an unknown assailant. The assailant escaped before the Skim-Jet crashed. I'm going to keep an eye out while you focus on the rescue just in case they are still in the area. Thunderbird Four, be careful down there."_

"FAB," I replied as I geared up for launch. "I'm ready for pod deployment."

As the pod hit the ice cold surface, I took Thunderbird Four into the depths. I arrived at the submerged part of the Skim-Jet. I could see the crew inside the control cabin. They were alive and well but you could see the anxiety running through their veins. I was able to make a call to them and explain the situation. I had worked out a strategy with Virgil. I was going to grab onto the front of the Skim-Jet while he lifted the rear side with the magnetic grabs. It was a standard idea that we used a lot of the time so I was confident that we would have the men out of there in no time at all. As I operated my Thunderbird's claw arms, could hear the vibrations in the ice above me. It was beginning to crack apart. I knew that if Virgil didn't act quickly his end then I would take on the full weight of the Skim-Jet. I kept the channel open so I could up to date with my brothers.

"Virgil, I'm just waiting for you bro," I said.

 _"I've got the magnetic grabs hooked onto her but I don't know how well they will hold,"_ Virgil replied. _"You're going to have to push her up on the count of Five."_

"Oh, I'm so good at doing that these days." I huffed.

As Virgil started the countdown, I was completely unaware that an unidentified craft was heading my way. I could hear my sonar computer beeping away in the distance, but I ignored it for the matter at hand. Virgil began the countdown.

" _Okay push on Five... Four... Three...Two..."_

Suddenly an explosion threw me about the cabin. I turned the to face the direction of the explosion and spotted the unidentified craft. It was long, grey and displayed markings that I had never seen before. The biggest marking was the letter "Z" in a big white circle. It was big enough to fit two people and it was now firing at me.

"Virgil! I think we've found out assailant! He's firing at me!" I cried. "I can't take much more of this punishment."

" _Okay Gordon, I'll try and drag the Skim-Jet out. You use your new defensive missiles and deal with the attacker."_

"I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to use these, but FAB."

A second explosive knocked the clamps free of the Skim-Jet. This guy didn't want me to rescue the crew. Well, I wasn't going to let anybody stop me. Brains had installed all the Thunderbirds with defensive systems. They were nothing too fancy, just an EMP missile launcher designed to disable attackers. We even agreed to arm ourselves with taser guns now just in case we were attacked while away from our crafts. As I veered away to face my attacker, I lined it up within my sights. I flipped the switch but nothing happened. The second explosion had knocked out the EMP missile launcher. It wasn't working. I was facing an attacker alone with no weapons in place. I was a sitting duck. The enemy sub positioned itself in the distance. I gathered that its pilot was preparing to make another run at me. I tried to keep my wits about me. I could hear Virgil straining over the radio trying to keep the Skim-Jet from sinking. I just had to return to help him. Those two men were running out of time.

My stomach began to twist itself into a knot. I watched on in fear as the attacking submarine darted for me. This was it. I was done for. Then suddenly, it's engines exploded as an electrical current ran across its metalplating. He fell and hit the sea floor just yards away from my position. As I try to wrap my head around what happened, Scott came through on the transmitter.

" _Thunderbird Four. Are you okay Gordon?"_

I wiped the sweat from my face. "That was too close for my liking, bro. Thanks. Who were they?"

" _They were a small Zombite patrol. They must have wanted the cargo that Skim-Jet was carrying."_ Scott explained. _"Speaking of which. You better get back to her. Virgil is struggling up here. The GDF will deal with the attackers."_

Now that Scott had my back, it was time to get that Skim-Jet out of the water. My claw arms no longer work since the second explosion had damaged them. Applying maximum power, I used everything Thunderbird Four had to drove her into the Skim-Jet. The two men jumped inside. They probably thought I was trying to kill them instead. That's not quite the International Rescue way. With my engines starting to strain, the Skim-Jet started to move. A few minutes later, Virgil was able to pull her clear.

 _"Well done, Gordon. The Skim-Jet is clear of the ice. Scott and I took her back to the platform and then I'll pick you up."_

"FAB," I replied as I took my damaged Thunderbird up to the surface.

When I say damaged, I don't mean damaged beyond repair. My girl has been ripped in half before by The Mechanic so I knew she could be repaired. It was nice to see the Arctic sun beating on my face. While I sat there and waited for my brother to come back and pick me up, I inspected the damage made to my little Thunderbird. Both her engines had overheated, the circuits for the mechanical arms had burnt out and the auto winch control had been damaged at my end. It was a small price to pay considering the lives that had been at stake and I'm not just talking about the two pilots. Like John said earlier, if that cargo of chemicals had spilled out into the sea then the Earth would have faced a far greater threat. Who would want to live in a world where the globe's water supply was tainted with toxins. Not me!

Virgil eventually arrived to pick me up and soon enough we were on our way home. All I could think about was the Turkey dinner that was surely as cold as the ice itself. I've always thought with my belly. It's what makes me so unique. Whatever, that's the end of the story. We got home, had dinner, had a little drunken dance with Penelope out by the pool and then went to bed bloated with a box of Antacids. Yeah, Tracy Thanksgivings are the best. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

END


	9. Rhino Duty

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Rhino Duty

by Scott Tracy

I often sit here and wonder sometimes if we were only set up to rescue human lives? Sorry for the odd opening of this story. It's just that sometimes we've been called out to rescue animal life as well. Just a few weeks ago, The Battersea Dogs home caught on fire. Virgil and Alan were able to rescue ever worker and dog from that inferno. Sometimes I think animals show even more gratitude than we do. The reason why I'm sitting here thinking about this instead of going out for a swim is that we've just returned home from the African plains. John called through to report an SOS call which had come from the African plains. A family had broken down only to become the target of some angry Rhinos. I know what you're thinking. What happened to the rangers that were out there? Well, that's the thing, we don't know. Anyway, after talking about what we were going to do, Virgil and Alan took off in Thunderbird Two. I was going to stay behind, but my curiosity had gotten the better of me so I took Thunderbird One and followed them. Virgil called through.

" _I guess you're bored then? Did Scotty-Wotty want to see the big bad Rhino's then?"_

"Well.. yes I do!" I replied with a snigger. "You two always get to do the cool stuff."

I could hear Alan laughing in the background. _"That's because we're the fan favourites. Haven't you checked our social media page yet?"_

"If you're talking about the page with those dreadful GIF's then no." I huffed. "I'm tagging along just in case you need my help."

The two children laughed again. _"FAB. If you're good we'll buy you a cuddly Rhino toy from the gift shop."_

I switched off the transmitter. "I've got to cut back on Alan's E numbers."

We eventually arrived at the area of the distress call. The African plains stretched out beyond the horizon. If it wasn't for the tracer, finding these guys would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. I could see various wildlife below. Elephants, Giraffe's, Hippos. All of these marvellous animals were just living their lives, unphased by the sounds of our jets whizzing over their heads. I eventually spotted the distressed thrill seekers. They were a family of four that had taken refuge on the top of their jeep. A crash of angry Rhinos circled the jeep with a threatening stance. The mother of the family looked up and spotted my jets. I could see her assuring her kids that they were going to be alright. The problem was that I had never been in this situation before. We had to lure the Rhino's away from the family somehow.

I decided to try something as a spare of the moment thing. I set Thunderbird One down by the jeep to see if I could attract the angry Rhinos attention. I didn't even have the time to try anything else. One of the rhinos saw me and charged towards Thunderbird One. I had little time to react. I hit the thrusters and took off. The angry clipped my left landing stanchion. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to topple me over. The beast then skidded along the ground before making its turn back towards the jeep.

"Well, that was a stupid move, Scott," I said aloud. "I wonder if Virgil has any ideas. Thunderbird Two from Thunderbird One. I've made an attempt to distract the Rhinos but it didn't work."

 _"We've just been talking to Brains,"_ Virgil replied. " _We have an idea that we'd like to try."_

I climbed to a safe hovering height and watched on as Thunderbird Two hovered over the petrified family. Carrying Pod One, Virgil and Alan activated the Ultrasound device. This thing was super cool. It was designed to generate ultrasonic and subsonic frequency bursts used to put out fires and in this case, create sound bursts enough to drive animals away. Now before I continue with this I just want to state that we did not do this to harm the Rhinos in any way. Once the sound generator was activated, Alan cranked up a low subsonic sound. The sound may sound faint to human ears, but it was actually a dull vibrating sound to the Rhinos. One by one, they dispersed, running off in all directions. I wasn't fully content though. So While Alan made his way down towards the family, I decided to tail the Rhinos just to make sure that they were out of harm's way.

All seemed to be okay until one frantic Rhino caught my attention. It broke itself away from the rest and sped frantically towards a nearby cliff face. It didn't know where it was running from. The frequency burst had spooked it to the point that it went AWOL. I couldn't' let it topple over the edge. Scaring an animal only to lead it to certain death wasn't going to happen on my watch. I flew down as low as I could and closed in on the frightened beast. Using my thrusters, I made a few passes around it in an attempt to steer it away from the edge. After the fifth pass, I was horrified to see that it was still heading for the edge. I was running out of time to act. I had no choice left but to use more extreme measures. I activated my EMP cannon and aimed it at the ground next to the Rhino's feet. I fired a medium charge. It was just enough to make it jump and change direction. It was working. I eventually skidded and headed to it's left just a few metres short of the ledge. I sighed a breath of relief as it ran back towards the crash.

Now That it was out of danger, I decided to do the right thing. I looked up a local list of Wildlife sanctuary's in the area and made a list of enquiries. I eventually found one that was looking for a crash of Rhinos. It was perfect. Keeping my airspeed low, I used Thunderbird One to herd them towards the Sanctuary. I felt like a sheepdog that was herding a cattle of sheep. It was rather quite easy and straightforward from then on. As soon as the local ranger rounded them up, I set my craft down so I could talk with him.

"Thanks for taking them is, Sir," I said. "They were scaring a family and my only guess is that they had broken loose from somewhere."

"Rhino's aren't often protected around these parts, Mister Tracy." The Ranger explained in a serious tone. "The fact is that you've saved from a possible fate that they wouldn't know about. We've set up these sanctuaries because we don't have enough men out on the plains to watch out for these hunters."

"I understand," I replied as I turned to leave. "If they should ever get loose again then give us a call. I make quite the crash herder."

I eventually caught up with Thunderbird Two which surprisingly had remained at the rescue site. I landed next to her and immediately caught up with my brothers. They had sat there with the family calmly talking to them about their ordeal.

"Where did you go?" Alan asked as I took a seat next to him. "Virgil said that you had to attend to something."

"Well, I had to herd those Rhino's to a safe place," I explained as I grabbed a cup of coffee from Alan's Thermos. "I almost lost one over the cliff edge. He was so spooked. I was able to find a sanctuary that would take them in. They shouldn't be a danger to anyone else or themselves again."

"Wow, good thinking bro." Virgil smiled as he bopped me on the shoulder. "You always were good with the wildlife."

"That explains why he was always able to convince Gordon to have a bath every fortnight." Alan sniggered.

"Or that time when he decided that dog food tasted better than one of Grandma's stews," Virgil added.

Having enough of their childishness, I grabbed my brother by the back of their collars and dragged them back towards their crafts. "Okay guys, let's go. Wouldn't want to let your dog food go to waste no do we?"

"Hey! Let go! Not in front of the family!" Alan moaned.

Returning to our crafts, we took off for home. I was very satisfied with that rescue, just knowing that we were able to save the lives of that family and the animals that were endangering them. I spent the rest of that evening having to endure more of Virgil and Alan's jokes. That was until they eventually knackered themselves out and went to bed. It just so happens that Kayo loves my sensitive side. She wouldn't stop asking me about what I did today. Let's just say that I offered to tell her over dinner tomorrow night. Which is now tonight by the way. Be good to your animals! Yeah, that will do for an ending.

END


	10. Storm Warning

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Storm Warning

By Virgil Tracy

It was back in July when we received a call from John. Weather warnings were pretty common during this time of year and storm surges had already battered parts of the United States. There were an area States that saw an amazing record of Tornadoes hit their states. It was known as "Tornado Alley." I was in the lounge with my brothers talking about a ship that we had just saved from a Typhoon off the coast of Japan when John's figure floated before us.

"Okay, John lets have it." Scott sighed. "It's not as if we're exhausted already."

 _"I'm sorry guys, but we have a situation out in Oklahoma,"_ John replied. _"An F4 Tornado has ripped through a police station that was in the process of evacuation. Most of the people were able to make it out but there are people trapped in the basement level."_

I studied a model of the damaged building. "It looks like the storm damage has blocked them inside. We'll need the mole. You coming, Scott?"

Scott shot me look of disapproval.

Kayo stood up. "Actually, let him rest. I'll come with you on this one. I'll take Thunderbird Shadow and patrol the area in case another storm cell happens."

"Alright. Thunderbird Two is go again I guess."

I caught a glimpse of Scott miming a message to Kayo. "Thanks."

"I can lip read you know!" I huffed.

After selecting the Pod assembly unit, I took off for Oklahoma. Kayo followed me close behind. I've rarely had to deal with Tornadoes so I had to remember my training in case I was ever get caught up in one. Thunderbird Two has always been sturdy and robust but she wasn't storm proof. She had been into space, dealt with crippling heat from a tower fire, had her engines ripped apart and even been underwater, but a Twister? I didn't even want to find out. As we cruised across the ocean towards the danger zone, Kayo had received more info from John.

" _Virgil, we should be able to spot the damage when we arrive. The twister has left a fine path of destruction. Just take a look at these pictures John sent me?"_

It was a terrifying sight to behold. The Tornado had torn a path through the town of Boswell. Boswell was a small settlement that had been used in the energy industry. In 2061, A high tech police station had been built there to tackle Energy Pirates. Lady Penelope had to tackle a few of their syndicates in the past. The Police Station sat right in the middle of the Tornado's path. The whole upper level had collapsed on top of the lower compartments. Fire crews had been attending to the multiple fires that engulfed the town. The Tornado had only hit a few energy farms but fortunately didn't take out the main plant. The Orson Company, a large energy company had the biggest energy plant in the area. The plant had been a target for years. Kayo wanted to make sure that pirates weren't using the storm damage to their advantage.

We eventually arrived at the town and began to assemble the Mole. By now, the fire crews were able to get the fires under control so no further action was needed on our part. I set my Thunderbird down close to the police station and made my way towards the Pod's assembly controls. I had the Mole put together in no time at all. As I strapped myself in behind the controls, Kayo messaged me again.

" _I've done a sweep of the area, The main plant is okay but I've just been in contact with the local Weather office. Another storm is brewing not far from your position. I'm going to track it."_

"FAB, Kayo," I replied confidently. "I'll have those trapped officers out in no time. Let's hope mother nature will be kind to us."

I steered the Mole out of the pod and crawled across the ground towards my chosen drilling position. Angling her down, I began to drill a hold down towards the basement levels. My plan was to drill into the main cell block which was close to where the life signs were. It was the most obvious point to make an entrance. My only worry was that the walls could cave in if I drilled too close to them so accurate distance was crucial. As I made it through to the other side, Kayo came through again and it wasn't good.

" _It's worse than I thought. Another F-4 Twister has touched down and it's heading straight for Boswell."_

"What!? How long do we have!?"

The look on her face said it all. _"I can't be sure but so far my data says that it'll hit Boswell in Fifteen Minutes."_

With no time to waste, I left the Mole and climbed my way over the rubble. Using my exo-grabs, I made way through a dark and eerie cell block. There were electrical cables jutting out all over the place with sparks flying from some of them. The room wasn't as big as I expected it to be. It was easy enough to find the next room and cut my way through the door. I found three police officers huddled in the next room. One of them was trapped under a bit of rubble and the other two had tried to free him from it.

"I'm from International Rescue." I said. "We've got to hurry. Another Tornado is heading this way!"

"I can't move my leg!" The trapped cop cried. "I think I've broken it!"

"Keep calm, I'll have you out in a moment" I replied as I turned my attention to the other two officers. "Is there anybody else down here?"

"We're not sure. We were the only ones down here making sure that everyone else got out before the Twister hit." One of the officers explained.

"Alright, well get to my craft. It's down the cell block on the other side of the wall. I had to make my own entrance. I'll get your friend out."

The two officers headed for the Mole while I used my exo-grabs to lift the rubble. I had to remove it a section at a time. All the while I was doing that, the officer winced in pain. As soon as he was clear, I picked him and carried him out back towards the Mole.

"Hold tight sir. You're going to be okay." I assured him.

As we made our way back to the Mole, we could feel the ceiling above us begin to shake. It felt like a mild tremor that gradually grew louder with each second. My instincts told me that it was an early warning about the incoming Tornado. Once we returned to the Mole, I made the injured officer comfortable. I climbed into the control seat and fired up the motors.

"Okay, everyone. Hold tight. We're out of here."

Kayo came through again with a grave look on her face. I was leaving it fine.

" _Virgil, the fire crews had to evacuate the area. That Tornado is almost on top of Boswell. You've got just Five minutes! Get out of there!"_

I didn't hesitate. I slammed the Mole into reverse and made a hasty retreat to the surface. The cabin shook around violently. Tensions rose inside the passenger compartment. I tried to get them all to keep their heads about them until we reached the surface. A ray of dim light appeared from above. We had made it. My heart thumped in my chest when my eyes locked on the terrain ahead. Thunderbird Two was behind me and in front of me was this dark, jet black, monstrous supertwister. It moved along the ground at a deceivingly fast speed. From a distance, you could easily mistake it for being slow but it was its wind speed that was dealing the damage. The emergency services had indeed evacuated from the area. We were the only ones left. Cranking the throttle, we headed straight for the pod. The Twister began to gain speed as it ripped its way through a sea of energy plants. Fire swirled around its base creating an eye-popping spectacle. The officers strapped their injured comrade into the medical wing while I threw myself behind the wheel. The sheer winds rattled the hull. Thunderbird Two felt like a tin can.

"Alright, everybody! This is going to get bumpy!" I shouted as I fastened my safety belt.

Alarm bells began to sound in the cabin. We had left it too late. We had been caught in the Tornado's winds and it was now swinging Thunderbird Two around like a paper toy. I kept the thrusters going and gripped the wheel. I knew that the only way we could get out of this was to ride the winds and blast out of there at the right second. This led to a battle that felt like an eternity. The alarms continued to whale, the rivets in the hull squeaked but it wasn't enough to distract me. I seized the moment and slammed down hard on the throttle. Thunderbird Two spiralled out of control for a few seconds but made it to a safe distance. I quickly regained control and pulled us out of a potential dive. We levelled up, skimming the soaked countryside in the process. Thunderbird Two had suffered minor pain damage, but we had made it.

As we flew away towards Oklahoma City, the clouds began to dissipate, greeting us with luscious sunshine and blue sky. Kayo eventually rendezvoused with us at the hospital there to assist the officers with their injured friend. As we flew home, she told me how she witnessed my skills with that Twister. It apparently lost structure and simply fizzled out just west of the town. The individual fires eventually burnt themselves with only minor casualties recorded. The police officer made a complete recovery and returned to work a few months later. I don't know how those guys do it. Each year, they have to deal with massive scale evacuations when a Tornado hits. Mother nature is one scary madam. It's unfortunate that we have to live with her. After updating John with the weather charts we returned home. Hopefully, the town of Boswell would get to sleep soundly that night.

END


	11. The Rapids

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

The Rapids

By Scott and Gordon Tracy

Gordon

The San Miguel Dam had been the subject of controversy since it's construction in 2050. I can remember it always being featured in the news since I was a kid because it was always the subject of arguments between protesters and officials. In recent years, news of the Dam had quietened down and the world just assumed that it was no longer bothering anyone. That was until it became an incident for International Rescue. It turned out that the maintenance budget for the Dam had gotten shorter each year to the point that they couldn't afford to keep its structure intact and strong. The poor care and attention had caused it to rupture and break apart. The volume of water it was housing from the San Miguel reservoir had turned into a raging flash flood which the local services couldn't contain. So the situation came to us. I was currently sleeping off a rich meal that I was certain that Grandma hadn't cooked properly when John decided to drop in and wake me up.

 _"Hey, Gordon. Wake up, bro. Come on I know you're awake. You don't go to bed with your shoes on."_

"I'm awake, what's wrong?" I yawned.

" _The San Miguel Dam has burst. It's caused a rapid stream that's threatening a monitoring station in front of it. Scott's standing by in Thunderbird One."_

Thunderbird Two was out of action at this point because Virgil and Brains had to go over some repairs since his incident with a Tornado. So Scott was going to take me instead. As I made my way towards the hangar, I could see Scott sitting there waiting impatiently for me.

"What took you so long?" He huffed as I climbed into the passenger seat. "Wait don't tell me. You were snoozing again weren't you?"

"I was. Grandma cooks too much." I replied. "I've never seen so much food like that in a long time."

Scott looked at me."Really? You make it sound like Penelope doesn't feed you when you stay over hers."

We took off for San Miguel. It wasn't long before the GDF contacted us. They reported that they had sent out some repair crews to take care of the Dam itself but couldn't rescue the trapped person inside the monitoring station. That made it easier for us, but I still had no idea what I was dealing with because John didn't give us a mission outline. It didn't take us long to find out as we quickly whizzed over the San Miguel valley.

"There it is, Gordon. It looks like the Monitoring station is about to crumble away." Scott said. "I don't think it's foundations can take the currents much longer."

"Right. If I can borrow your thruster pack, I can get those guys out in no time." I replied.

"FAB." Scott agreed. "Good luck and be careful bro."

Thunderbird One hovered over the station and a safe height and remained there. Using Scott's thruster pack, I gently descended towards the sky entrance of the station. I could see only one person inside and she was stressed to the limit. The loud sound of the water really ramped up the tension. I climbed down into the building and fastened the hatch above me. The woman seemed startled by my presence.

"Who are you!?" She demanded. "Have you come back to finish me off!?"

I was confused. Who was she talking about? "What? No, I'm from International Rescue. I've come to get you out of here."

"International Rescue? Thank god! I thought that monster was coming back to kill me!"

"What monster? Who are you talking about?"

"The... The Zombite!"

Before I could reply, the control room began to creak. Then the floor began to shake beneath our feet as the water continued to batter the metal supports. As we prepared to get out of there. The stanchion support collapsed. We hit the floor as the station smacked into the currents. It became a raft that was now riding the rapid currents. Horrified, Scott hit the thrusters and flew after us.

" _Gordon! Are you alright!?"_ He cried.

I picked myself up off the floor but found it hard to move. The current was rocking the station all over the place so gaining my balance was next to impossible. I tried my best to contact Scott by gently raising my right arm.

"We're okay, Scott. It turns out this station was designed to act like a life raft in an event of a flood." I replied. "Only thing is, I don't know what we're going to do now."

" _Leave it with me. I'll consult with Brains."_

"Wait before you do, contact the GDF. This lady with me said that she was attacked by a Zombite agent. Perhaps he's responsible for this?"

" _It makes sense. I'll get them to look into it. Hang tight you two."_

While Scott was getting to work, I decided to talk to the young woman who was desperately clinging to a chair. I reached out to her and asked her to grab my hand. She took it and swung her body towards the handrail next to me.

"We've got it under control," I assured her. "Fortunately this raft should keep us afloat just as long as we don't make any sudden movements. What's your name?"

"Janet." She stuttered. "My name is Janet. I'm chief controller here."

"I'm Gordon," I replied with a smile. "Do you know why a Zombite agent was trying to attack you, Janet?"

Amongst the confusion and added adrenaline, Janet tried to recount what happened. I was just trying to keep her talking while Scott came up with a plan.

"I'm not sure." She replied. "I just know that he came in shouting something in broken English. Something about flooding the valley so they could control the Dam for themselves."

"Okay well the GDF will find him. He won't get far." I said. "We just need to focus on getting out of here in one piece. Hopefully, my brother will have a few tricks up his sleeve."

The rapids began to grow in strength. I was certain that we were going to smash into a village at this rate. Whatever Scott was doing, he needed to it soon.

Scott

I'll admit, I wasted too much time making a plan with Brains. Studying a map of the valley, I was able to carry out an idea that we both wanted to try for a while. Back when the Zombite crisis began, All Thunderbirds had been fitted with EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) missiles as a form of defence. I had already used mine once to take out an attacker that opened fire on Thunderbird Four during a rescue and it was a success. Now I needed to know if I could use them on the surrounding cliffs of the valley. I had discovered that there dozens of dried up waterways that could either divert the water out towards the ocean or towards a deserted shoreline. I was going to use one of these inlets to my advantage using the missiles to divert them. Once I confirmed the chances of success, I informed Gordon who was battling to keep everything together.

"Gordon, I'm going to try something, but I'll need to fly up ahead in order for it to work."

Gordon's distressed image appeared before me.

" _FAB Scott. What are you going to do exactly?"_

"I'm going to get you off this course and get the current to flow in another direction," I explained. "Hopefully I can get it to wash you both towards the shore. I've checked it with Brains. He reckons it will work. Just hold tight whatever you do."

Gordon nodded. _"FAB. Make it snappy will you? We're not sure how long this tower room is going to hold together."_

"Hopefully long enough," I replied as switched off the communicator.

Flying on ahead, I located the front of the rapids only Twenty minutes later. It was heading for an unsuspecting town which had only been built there a few months before. The situation became doubly serious at this point. Not only did I have to get my brother safely ashore, but I had to save a sleepy town from certain destruction. A Nuclear power plant sat there at the end of the town. Now I don't need to tell you the consequences of what would happen next. I had to make sure that this never happened. I followed a nearby waterway that had been dry for months. The map showed that it led out towards the ocean with a few opportunities to beach the station. It was perfect, but I had to make a few alterations first so that the water could change direction. I flew Thunderbird One up into a diving position and activated my EMP cannon.

I fired a pulse of concentrated electricity, knocking the cliff face in front of me. A heavy a pile of boulders and dust buried the valley just next to mouth of waterway. It was a good start, but it wasn't enough. I pulled up and prepared myself for another run. This time, I targeted the opposing cliff face. I fired another round at it, burying the mouth of the valley completely. I couldn't believe my eyes. The plan worked like a charm. I could see the rushing water, race its way down the valley towards my makeshift barrier. The waves crashed upside it as it began to make it's down the waterway. It was all going rather well. As I hovered there and watched on as Gordon and Janet eventually caught up. It was either going to happen one of two ways. They were either going to follow the current like planned or smash themselves up into the barrier.

"Gordon, I've created a barrier to divert the water, but the two of you are going to smash into it if you don't tip the station in the same direction."

Gordon's image returned. " _Okay, we can the turning now. Okay, Janet, on the count of three, we'll lean towards t the right."_

Sure enough, they managed to do it as the water carried them into the waterway. They were now heading for a shoreline that could potentially save them and end this episode, but there was nothing I could do from up here. It was down to Gordon and Janet to stop their boat ride.

Gordon

"Okay, I think I can see a shoreline up ahead," I said. "Do you think you can that again?"

"I don't know." Janet sighed. "My arms ache from all this hanging on. I just want to rest."

"I'm not sure if you've noticed or anything, but now isn't the time for rest. Look we're coming up on it rather fast. We can do this!"

Despite her annoyed expression which she threw at me, Janet calmly pulled herself together. We spotted the shoreline up ahead. It was large enough for us to beach the station. We both pressed our bodies up against the glass work, waiting to lean on my signal.

"Ready?" I asked her.

"I guess so," she replied. "It's not or never I suppose."

"Agreed. Okay on my mark. Three... Two... One... Now! Lean!"

We used our remaining strength to push the station towards the beach. It seemed harder this time. It honestly felt like we weren't budging, that was until Janet did something incredible. She decided to rock the centre of the station using her balance. It was enough to tilt the building towards the beach front. It braced ourselves for impact as the building skidded along the sand. Eventually, we came to a halt. We could hear the rapid currents behind us as they carried on out towards the sea. We were alright with only minor bruising.

"Janet, that was awesome!" I said. "I thought we weren't going to make it for a second."

"I thought that too but I've got a concert recording on TV and I don't want to miss it." She replied.

"Alright, well let's get out of here."

Scott arrived to pick us up, leaving the wrecked structure behind for the authorities. The three of us had a discussion about Janet's mysterious attacker. Scott explained that the GDF had some Intel on this guy. His name wasn't verified but he went but the code name of Agent Obliterate. He was a Zombite agent that was tasked with flooding the newly established town of "Meddingsville." A town that was built around the new Nuclear Power Plant there. The GDF apprehended him shortly after he left the Dam site. The mayor of Meddingsville wanted to thank us personally for preventing the disaster, but we felt it was best to drop Janet off at the hospital and head home. Fuss really wasn't our thing.

It was apparent that the Zombite threat was increasing. Over the course of the next few months, International Rescue would witness their agents again and again. Times were changing and they weren't changing for the better. Was this the beginning of an ever-growing storm?

END


	12. The Star Home (Christmas Special)

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **(Christmas Special)**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

 **The Star Home (Christmas Special)**

 **by Lady Penelope**

It was Christmas Eve when it all happened. It was dark, cold and the recent snowfall had made the roads treacherous to drive on. Parker and I had been on assignment in Russia during the harsh winter months. We had been on the trail of a well-known spy who had stolen some valuable information from Colonel Casey herself. Once we traced down and took out the suspect, we began to head for the airport. I couldn't get used to the cold out here. We were due for a family meal on Tracy Island to celebrate the Christmas period. I love spending Christmas with the Tracy family. They always knew how to make the most of the festivities despite their busy lives. As Bertie snuggled into my fur coat, a sudden jolt knocked me from my thoughts. We had hit the curb and punctured a tire. Parker explained that FAB One's systems were starting to fail due to some sort of computer malfunction. A situation like this rarely happened, but it gave me an idea. Using my SOS homing signal, I dispatched a call to Tracy Island. Virgil and Gordon eventually arrived in Thunderbird Two to pick us up. As they landed to give us a hand, I was surprised to see that Brains had accompanied them.

"Well hey there ma'am." Gordon joked as he showed off in front of his brother. "This is the International Breakdown service. May we kindly bring your vehicle onboard?"

"Boys, I couldn't be more grateful," I said. "Everything was going fine until FAB One's systems just failed."

"Are you hurt at all?" Virgil asked as Parker grumbled to me.

"Only me 'ead, Mister Virgil." He said, nursing an angry bruise on his forehead. "I 'ope I don't 'ave to take my test again M'lady?"

"Why don't you take Sherbert in with you and take a seat, Parker. I'll be alright now Gordon's here."

As Parker went inside, I could see Brains expecting FAB One inside the Pod. Something had caught his eye.

"Have spotted something, Brains?" I asked.

"There's nothing p-physically wrong with her, Lady Penelope." He explained, "However I am detecting a bubble of electromagnetic impulses directly over us. We'd better take off in case it drains T-Thunderbird Two of her power as well."

"Who would want to place an EMP bubble here, Brains?" Gordon asked.

"The spy I was chasing, probably left it there to slow us up." I theorised. "We'll worry about that later though."

"Agreed," said Virgil as he climbed up towards the cockpit. "Strap yourselves in and we'll be out of here in no time."

As soon as we prepared for take off, Virgil hit the accelerator when suddenly,

"Uh-oh. I'm not getting any lift!"

"It's the EMP bubble! It's drained the automatic systems. S-switch to manual."

Virgil flipped the switch. "Okay. I've got her on manual now. Hold tight everyone."

The cockpit shook violently as Virgil used his talents to lift us off the ground. It took us a few minutes to clear the EMP bubble, but the effects of the drain hadn't quite taken their toll.

"Thunderbird Two to base. Come in Base? Scott?"

Gordon shot a puzzled look."Now the radio is dead? Don't tell me that the EMP bubble took that out too?"

"It's possible, Gordon." Brains explained. "Most of Thunderbird Two's functions all operate from the central c-computer. If the computer was damaged by the EMP bubble, then there's a chance that most of her operations have shut down all except the manual flight control."

"So we can fly but we can't navigate or contact the island?" Virgil summarised. "This is going to be fun. One of you better finds a map."

"There's got to be one around here somewhere," Gordon added. "We'll be over the ocean soon."

The slow setting sun eventually disappeared over the horizon as we made it to the ocean. The skies were clear and the stars danced above us. I sat there lost in thought while the others studied a bunch of crumpled old maps. Parker had passed out in the back with Bertie and was sound asleep at this point which meant that I was left alone once again to daydream. As my mind continued to drift away, a warm glow touched the side of my temple. The whole aura around me shifted. Suddenly I just felt safe, comfortable. My eyes rolled across towards the source of the majestic light source. It was a beautiful star that stood out amongst the rest of them. It looked like the one that was featured in the Christmas Nativity story. It was said to be a beacon which guided the three wise men towards Bethlehem. It felt like a similar situation was about to happen. Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of confidence and adrenaline set in. I felt certain that we were supposed to follow this thing. It was here for a reason. My ears then tuned in to the frantic voices that bounced around the cockpit.

"I can't read these outdated maps!" Gordon huffed. "We're screwed."

"Well, we can't stay out here forever." Virgil informed him. "This baby still runs on fuel remember. She'll run out eventually. We're going to have to pick a direction and hope the computer comes back on."

I stepped up an put forth my idea. "We'll follow that star."

They turned to look at the cosmic beauty. I smirked as each of their jaws dropped to the floor.

"What is that thing?" Virgil asked.

"Do we dare fly towards it?" Gordon added.

"It appears to be a rare atmospheric event." Brains said as he attempted to explain it. "Perhaps it's to do with ice crystals in the planet's Atmosphere?"

"Or perhaps it's a guide to follow," I said. "Virgil, I'm confident that this is a sign of help. I think we should follow it."

Virgil thought it over. "Well if we keep flying that way, it's likely that we'll find land on the way in case we do run out of fuel and have to land. Alright. We'll follow the star of Tracyhem."

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Did you just make one of my puns? I don't like it."

"Actually, I rather like it a lot." I smiled and I nestled my head into his chest. "I just hope I'm right about this."

An hour passed by and the star continued to pulsate it's inviting warm colours. I couldn't help but be entangled by its tranquil glow. Gordon held me as we sat back and watched it together.

"Where do you think it'll lead us?" He asked me in a gentle tone.

"Home, I hope," I replied. "You know it's funny. I just felt so sure that I knew what to do once I saw that star. There's something more to this that I can't put my finger on. Almost like it was meant to be there for us."

"Well hopefully, it won't lead us to a baby who was born in a shed."

I shot him a look. "It was stable, you dummy. Jesus was born in a stable."

Gordon smiled. "I know that really. You know. I can't wait until we do get home. I eh... I actually have a surprise for you."

"Oh? You know I love surprises."

"Yeah? Well, this one is under my bed because it's... well... it's personal."

My eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What are you up to, Gordon Tracy?"

"What? Oh... Hey no, it's nothing like that you naughty girl. Give me some class here." He sniggered with embarrassment. "No, It's something I bought for you. Something personal that the others don't know about."

"Is that the only clue I'm getting?"

"Yep." he smiled cutely.

Meanwhile, Virgil and Brains attempted to reboot the main computer, but they weren't having any success. To add to their concealed stress, we were down to under half a tank of fuel. We were now holding onto a prayer that landfall would turn up real soon. However suddenly, our spirits began to lift.

"I don't believe it." He muttered. "I simply don't believe it. Brains, is that what I think it is?"

"It's T-Tracy Island!" Brains confirmed as he wiped his glass lens.

Gordon bolted towards them. "Are you serious!?"

"Oh, he's serious alright, bro." Virgil laughed. "We actually did it. With no computers, no radio and no navigation, we found our way home. Penelope, sweetie. We owe you a drink. Your hunch paid off."

I just wanted to burst out with joy at the thought of hearing Virgil say those words, but then that wouldn't be the proper thing for a Creighton-Ward to do.

"Well, I do have them now and again," I replied with a smug look on my face. "I'll go wake, Parker."

It had been the most interesting night of my life. It was like an act of Christmas had presented itself to help us find our way home. As soon as we landed, none of us hesitated in telling the family about it. As soon as we told our story, everybody scrambled towards the balcony to catch a glimpse of the star. Sure enough, there was, hanging over the ocean shining its glow on villa. Come to think of it, it had to be the first time I had seen Brains speechless.

"That actually does look like the Nativity star," Alan said. "I wonder what it would have been like if we were apart of that story?"

"Well knowing you, those three wise men would take one look at you and then run away." Gordon quipped.

"That's enough, you!" Grandma growled. "Anyway. How about we get some dinner. Get this party started. I bet all of you are famished?"

"Grandma's right. Kayo and I will help you set the table." Scott spoke up as he rallied everyone inside.

It would take another two hours until the star finally faded away. Everyone went off to do their separate things after dinner. Brains went to the hangar to recharge Thunderbird Two and FAB One. Grandma went to check in on Parker while Alan kept my little Bertie entertained. John was assigned to washing up duty with Virgil and Scott and Kayo retreated the bedroom. Gordon and I had the balcony to ourselves. After playing around with the mistletoe, Gordon reached into his pocket and asked me to close my eyes. I could hear him open up a case and reach for something metallic.

"You can open your eyes now," he said softly.

A huge smile beamed across my face as he presented me with a beautiful silver necklace that had our my initials on it. It was beautiful. I mean, Gordon Tracy buying jewellery? Would you have thought it six years ago?

"Gordon, it's beautiful," I said as he gently fastened it around my neck. "How could you afford this?"

"That's a trade secret." He replied. "The main thing is you deserve to have a magical Christmas with us. It's been a tough a year for us with everything that's happened and I feel that I owe it to you that I make this special..."

"Stop talking," I said as I pulled him in for a kiss under the stars.

That's the end of this happy little tale. I hope all of you out there have a safe and wonderful Christmas or any holiday that you spend with your loved ones. I'll be enjoying mine in the company of my favourite family. Merry Christmas and here's to an amazing 2068. Goodnight.

THE END


	13. Navy Days

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

 **Navy Days**

 **by John Tracy**

First off I just want to say that I dragged to this event. These charity fundraiser type outings have never been my style, but it was Gordon and Penelope's decision to drag me along with them and the others just so happened to agree with them. Where had they taken me? To the Portsmouth World Naval Heritage Naval fundraiser that was backed by her Ladyship herself. It was set up to raise money into preserving the world's remaining Navy fleet that had since gone out of service when the GDF took over. I'll be fair, they were pretty impressive ships that had been looked after rather well. It was the people that I didn't like. They were the rich types. Always there to make a statement rather than socialise with anyone else. Why was here? Oh, I apparently needed the break. Sure I did. As I stood there uncomfortably in a stiff suit that I hadn't worn in forever, A finely dressed Gordon and Penelope approached me with drinks. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"What's this?" I asked as Gordon handed me a glass. "Champagne?"

"Well, it's not Lemonade if that's what you're thinking," Gordon replied. " You need to keep up appearances around here you know."

"Sod that." I huffed. "I'd rather be up there looking down on the planet. Who needs these social situations when I can have EOS?"

"That's exactly why you're here, John," Penelope added. "You're losing your touch with civilisation all the while you are up there floating about. Just relax and enjoy the atmosphere."

"What atmosphere?" I challenged her. "There's a couple over there bragging to another couple about how many hovercars they own."

Gordon then interrupted my ranting. "Here comes the air show."

Looking through a pair of binoculars, we watched in amazement as a stunt pilot danced across the sky above us in a fighter jet. He performed all of the standard stunts at first which were anything but amazing that was until he climbed up at a sharp angle. I had a gut feeling that something was about to go wrong. Suddenly, his engines cut out and the jet began to fall from the sky. The pilot safely ejected moments before the jet impacted with the deck of an aircraft carrier. The crowd started to panic as a huge fireball erupted from the deck of the carrier. The fire crews were quickly alerted, scrambling their fire tenders to the scene. Gordon and I looked at each other. Our Tracy instincts kicked in,

"Do you think anybody could have made it out in time?" he asked.

I switched on my communicator. "Maybe, but I highly doubt it. I'll call base. We're going to need the firefighting gear."

The fire continued to burn through the decks of the carrier. The fire crews were losing the battle. While eagerly awaited Virgil's arrival, Penelope came over to us along with the GDF representative that was present.

"We've just spoken with one of the senior officers that is aboard the carrier. He reports that he's trapped in on the hangar deck with multiple personnel." She said. "They are wearing environmental suits but they won't last long."

"They won't last long in that heat," I said worryingly. "Virgil better hurry."

Eventually, the sound of motors approached the site. We looked up to see Thunderbird Two emerge from the other side of the carrier. We cleared the fire crews from the site so Virgil could land her safely. As soon as she did, we hurried for the pod. Virgil had bought our utility suits with him along with the firefighting pods. The pod door lowered revealing Virgil on the other side.

"That fire looks aggressive." He said. "Looks like I got here not a moment too soon."

"You don't say," Gordon replied as he suited up. "John, you assemble the Hydro Pod. We're going to need to get onboard the carrier with it."

"FAB."

Assembling the pod, Gordon and I followed Virgil who was using the Firefly pod. The explosion had caused debris to rain down on the quayside. It was blocking the only entrance to the carrier deck. Virgil had to shovel it out of the way. As soon as the platform was clear, we took over the operation by dousing out the surrounding flames. The walkway up onto the deck had been damaged. It was no longer structurally safe. Gordon slowly steered us onto the deck of the carrier, putting out the flames as we went. Virgil eventually caught up with us at the point of impact. The heat was incredible. I hate to think of how much fuel that jet was carrying. It was even more incredible how the carrier was holding up to it. She had shown no signs of flooding. Of course, the danger was that it all could change at the drop of a hat. Virgil left hid pod in his exo grab suit while Gordon brought out a thruster pack. The three of us could hear voices echoing from below.

"Help!" "Somebody help us!"

"This is International Rescue!" Virgil called down. "We'll have you out. Just keep calm!"

"One of us will have to go down there while Virgil stops that metal stanchion from falling on them," Gordon spoke up. If that drops, they'll all be crushed."

"Well, I'm lighter," I replied. "I'll grab the other pack and join you. With two of us down there we should get them out faster."

"No, John. You go." Gordon replied. "Somebody's got to tackle the fire so I'll do that."

"FAB," I replied. "Good luck boys."

"Well, what do you know. You both didn't argue this time." Virgil said smugly. "Let's get to work."

Grabbing the loose steel stanchion, Virgil used his strength to keep it back. I strapped on the thruster pack and descended into the boiling carrier. Visibility down here was appalling, to say the least. Thick smoke blanketed the area. Not even the beam from my flashlight could cut through it. I called out to them again hoping to home in on their frightened voices.

"This is International Rescue. Call out to me so I can find you."

A voice swiftly replied. "We're over here! Inside the hangar deck."

I eventually located the trapped men. The hangar deck was a mess. Multiple fires ate through the remains of damaged jets and equipment. The emergency exit had been damaged by the debris which was blocking it. I knew that I couldn't grab them out once at a time because it would take too long. The commanding officer limped forward and fell into my arms. He was bleeding severely from his leg with a piece of metal sticking out of it.

"I'm Commander Nielson." He moaned. "You've got to help us clear this exit. We're running out of air down here."

"Is anyone else hurt, Commander?" I asked. "I need to know that you all can walk. I don't think I'll be able to airlift you all out of here in time."

The commander growled at me."What? You mean, you haven't bought one of your machines with you to lift us out? "

" Sir, right now I have two people trying to prevent the fire and debris from killing us. Now work with me here!" I said in a stern voice. I think we can shift the rubble and get this door open. I have a little something that will loosen the bolts."

"Alright, son." The Commander replied. "My men have moved some of the mess but it's the door itself that's giving us trouble."

I made my way over towards the door. You could see the daylight on the other side of it so I was sure that it would be a clear exit. The problem was that the metal bolts had melted, welding the door shut. I pulled out a small hand laser tool which I had acquired from the pod. Before I could get to work on freeing the crew, Virgil's deep bellowing voice echoed from above.

"John, you've got to hurry up down there! I can't...hold this for much...longer!"

As he would later explain, Virgil had begun to lose his grip on the heavy metal girder which was dangling above our heads. I couldn't imagine the strain it was having on his body. The pressure and the heat were starting to get to me. I'm not sure how the crew had tolerated it the way they did. I wasn't used to such things. I'm only a spaceman remember? After using a precise beam to cut away the bolts, the Commander and his mean charged into the door, knocking it down. A fresh gust of air greeted us from the outside. The Commander and I rallied the rest of the crew out onto the intact portion of the deck where Gordon was waiting for them. Suddenly, I heard a loud metallic crashing sound echoing from behind. Virgil had dropped the metal girder and it wasn't a moment too soon.

"I'll take the Commander and his men to the paramedics," Gordon said while I waited for Virgil. "They're pretty shaken up but I think they'll be okay."

"FAB bro. Just watch out for the Commander. He'll cause a fuss the first chance he gets."

Virgil hobbled towards me. He seemed okay but he was clutching his left shoulder in pain.

"Are you alright? I heard a crashing sound back there."

"I'm fine. I just pulled a muscle that's all." He replied in pain. "I don't know my own strength sometimes. The grabs are ruined though. I busted a circuit in them."

"We'll get Brains to look at them as soon as we get home," I said as I helped him back towards the quayside.

"What do you mean, we?" He said as he looked at me with a confused expression. "Aren't you supposed to enjoy the rest of the fundraiser with Gordon and Penelope?"

"Are you kidding me?" I huffed. "I've had enough excitement for one day. I'm heading home and that's final."

"Whatever you say, Spaceman." Virgil shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Luckily for me, I was able to sneak aboard Thunderbird Two with Virgil, leaving Gordon and Penelope behind to continue the fundraiser. Sure she was mad when she found out that I left so abruptly but Gordon got her to understand eventually. As soon as I returned to Thunderbird Five, EOS would play all the news updates on the disaster. The Aircraft carrier didn't sink but she had suffered severe damage. Quite sad really. As for the Commander and his men, they all made recoveries in the following weeks. If there's one thing I've learnt from now on it's this. Don't ever draft me into Navy fundraisers again. Don't even put me in the Navy at all. Space is the place that I like to call home.

END


	14. A Cruise To Remember Part One

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

A Cruise to Remember

by Scott Tracy and Kayo Kyrano.

With a little help from a dear friend :) Thanks, Elle xx

Scott

There are only two words that come to mind when you plan a family vacation. Let's go. This was the first vacation in a long time and we were going to enjoy it. Kayo had booked the four of us a cruise in the Mediterranean. It was just out of season. A perfect time really. It meant that we could relax and enjoy the sights without drawing too much attention to ourselves. As she was the one who bought the tickets, Kayo got to choose who went with her on this cruise. She picked John in an attempt to get him to socialise, Virgil because he needed to part with his piano and green lady and myself because I was running myself ragged with International Rescue. I had been previously diagnosed with a stress disorder which was worrying everyone so Kayo decided that this trip away would be what I needed.

We were going to sail aboard the newly commissioned S.S Valentina, an atomic cruise liner which went back to its old traditions of using a crew over automated computers. It all sounded exciting. John displayed his usual array of nerves and groans. He still hadn't managed to get used to the social world since his rescue at the Navy Day fundraiser, but he had Virgil to lean on. I found it hard though because it meant spending time with a woman who I once had been in love with. I never really mentioned this much in recent years, but three years ago, Kayo and I were... well... we were together. We were infatuated with each other at one point but the stresses of International Rescue were putting a strain on the relationship. We broke up last year which was a mutual decision but a tough one none the less. I had been seeing other women since then but nothing ever really took off. That's just the way it is I suppose. Despite my feelings for Kayo that I think will never truly die, I had to recognise the fact that it all happened for a reason. She was still apart of my family. I just had to get on with it.

Anyway, Before we left for the port, Virgil and I had appointed Alan and Gordon with piloting Thunderbird Two. They had both trained to fly her in the even that Virgil was away. I knew that they were going to do a great job despite the fact that I hoped they would come with us too. We boarded our jet and set off for England where Valentina was waiting for us. John moaned the whole way there. Lucky us.

"You know, I ought to eject right now. You should have taken Gordon with you instead." He huffed. "This is torture."

"No this is a good chance for you to get away from it all." Kayo corrected him. "Did you seriously think that you could get away from Penelope without her telling me? You need to stop running from people, John. It's not good for a guy your age."

"She's right." Virgil agreed. "Besides, you might get to meet some like-minded people onboard. Perhaps even a girl?"

"No, that's the reason why you're going." John countered. "I watched you pack Gordon's book of pick up lines."

"That's not true." Virgil denied. "I'm just going for the classical bar that's onboard. You know, for the music."

John smirked. "You mean for the women who love piano music."

"Okay, you two that's enough," I said, speaking up. "Virgil, you won't spend all of your time in the bar and John, all we ask of you is to enjoy your time on Earth for once. We're going to be at sea for two weeks so can get adjusted to it properly. Kayo thought of you two because you work harder than the others. Just remember that."

"Fine." They both groaned.

Kayo looked over at me and whispered with a smile. "Thank you."

"Thank you, for including me," I replied with the same expression.

A few hours later, we boarded the ship and made our way towards our rooms. As we toured the ship, I couldn't help but be impressed with its design. My cabin was spacious enough with a double bed and a balcony which overlooked the ocean. Virgil's room was to the left of me and John's was to my right. As I began to unpack, I could hear an argument outside my room. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. A frustrated Kayo stood on the other side of the door. Her hand clutched onto her suitcase.

"So guess what!" She growled. "They only gave my room away to someone else!"

"What?"

"Yep. They completely messed up the booking which means that I now don't have a room," she explained. "We haven't even set off yet and already this vacation has gone wrong."

I had a thought there and then. "Then you're sharing with me."

"what?" she said taken back slightly by my proposal. "Scott, I don't want to impose."

"I know what you thinking. Won't it be weird if we shared a room? Look I have a double bed here and if it means that you get a room for the next two weeks then I'd rather you share it with me or whatever. We'll work something out."

"Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you." She said as she pulled me in for a hug. "You're the best."

"I'll take the couch," I said as she wheeled her case inside. "It'll be easier."

Kayo reached out and grabbed my hand. "I understand how you feel, Scott. I do honestly. I know how this might feel weird because you know... it's us, but I want you to know that I do appreciate this. How about I go and unpack and then afterwards, I'll buy you a drink to say thank you?"

"Sounds like an idea to me." I smiled.

I left her to unpack and went to John's room to see if he was settling in alright. Virgil had already made his way to the bar to see if he could borrow a piano. I guess he was feeling more homesick than I thought.

Kayo

Later that evening, the ship left port and headed for the ocean. I kept to my word about taking Scott out for a drink so we went for an explore around the deck. We came to the first bar we saw that was on the promenade deck. It was a classy place. It wasn't overly busy but provided a cosy setting. We sat up at the bar, waiting for our drinks when I noticed a look of worry in Scott's eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. "You've been unsettled all afternoon?"

His eyes then looked down at the bar. "It's nothing. I'm fine. I just get a little sea sick I think."

"You've never been seasick in your life," I replied unimpressed. "If it's about the room business then I'll see if Virgil will put me up."

Scott drummed his fingers on the bar as the waiter arrived with our drinks.

"It's not about the room." He said. "It's just... I've been keeping something from you because I didn't want to... you know... open up old wounds."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, now I'm intrigued."

He sighed as he took a swig of his beer. "Kayo look, before coming on this trip I was diagnosed with that stress disorder thing. I said that it was all because leading International Rescue was getting on top of me. Well, as that so happens that's not quite true. There's something else that has been eating me up inside for a long time."

I gently stroked his hand. "Don't tell me. I think I already know."

"I still need to say it out loud." He continued. "I can't stop thinking about you. All those failed dates, all those times I've said I was stressed because of work all those GDF business trips I took. I did it because I was running away from the fact that we were never going to be together again. Thing is now that we're on a cruise ship together sharing a room, it all just feels too real. "

"Scott, you are an idiot keeping this from me. I always knew that you were still in love with me." I said as I placed my feelings on the table. "I've... kind of been feeling the same way lately."

He lifted his eyes to meet mine. "You have?"

"Sure I have. I think we just needed time to re-evaluate things which were why we broke up, but it's been three years and I think it's clear that we just can't be apart. Maybe this vacation might be what we need to rekindle things. I just don't want us to rush anything you know?"

Scott raised his glass. "Well, I can drink to that. Here's to... our possible future?"

"To our possible future."

Suddenly, A huge explosion rocked the ship, throwing us from our seats. People screamed as the windows shattered. The power went out, plunging the room into darkness. Scott checked me over for any cuts and bruises but I was alright. He leapt up to his feet and started to assist the other passengers. The emergency generators then kicked in, flicking the lights back on. The whole room was a mess.

"That came from inside the ship." He said. "We've got to find the others and find out what is going on."

"FAB." I agreed. "I think I saw John and Virgil head for the Jazz bar on the upper deck."

We left the bar and hurried along the deck towards the jazz bar. The whole ship had descended into fear and confusion. Nobody knew what was going on. As we made it up the stairs towards the upper deck, we found Virgil and John. They both looked dazed and confused as to what had just happened. As we all tried to gather our wits about us, we were completely unaware that a disaster was about to unfold right beneath our feet.

To Be Continued.


	15. A Cruise To Remember Part Two

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

A Cruise to Remember

Part Two

by Virgil Tracy and John Tracy

Virgil

I was having a whale of a time at the Jazz bar's piano. The manager was kind enough to let me play it for tonight entertainment because the original act had come down with food poisoning. I was thrilled. It was my time to share my love of the piano with the public. John had decided to accompany me as he believed that my music would make him feel more at home. I had been playing for a couple of hours when I realised that I had won over my audience. John approached me with a couple of drinks in his hand. He started to feel a little better about the whole vacation thing.

"How are you feeling, bro?" I asked him. "You seem quite chilled out?"

"It's your music, bro." He replied. "It reminds me of home. Maybe you should ask if you could play here for the next two weeks?"

"Well at least you like my classics, but I don't think the manager will be that kind to me."

Suddenly, the explosion happened. John lost his balance and smacked his head on the bar while I hit the deck. The passengers and crew shrieked with fear and confusion. Nobody knew what was happening. The explosion lasted a couple of seconds before the lights flicked back on. I raised myself up to attend to the fallen passengers. There were no major casualties, but John staggered about on his feet. A nasty lump appeared on his head. I led him outside onto the deck to clear his head.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"What on Earth was that?" John replied. "What hit us?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I wonder if the others are okay?"

Scott and Kayo eventually joined us. They had experienced the explosion themselves on the lower deck. As soon as John gathered his wits about him, we made a quick assessment of the situation.

"That explosion came from within the ship." Scott began. "I don't know what's happened, but I know that was no ordinary hiccup."

"We'll need to find out what's going on from the Captain," I suggested. "If there's going to be any trouble, then at least he'll know that International Rescue will be onboard to help."

"Should we really reveal ourselves to the ship's passengers and crew so soon?" John added. "I mean what if there isn't a disaster? We can't just go barging in there demanding answers."

"Nevertheless it doesn't look like we have a choice." Kayo countered. "We better get to the bridge and find out. Scott, I left my communicator back in our room. I'll go and fetch it as we may need it."

Scott nodded. "Alright, but be careful. We don't want to alarm the passengers any more than we need to."

"No, we'll leave the crew to do that."

The three of us made it up towards the main bridge. The entire deck had been flooded with intense stress and panic. The bridge officers ran about the deck like headless chickens. The Captain stood there amongst the chaos. He was in a right dishevelled state as sweat drenched his face. Scott quickly introduced us to the stern officer and explained who we were. Despite his willingness to disclose what had happened, the Captain finally relented and explained to us the whole situation.

"So you fellas are from International Rescue eh? Well, I fear that you may be unable to help without your machines. One of our atomic engines ruptured, causing the explosion to destroy three bulkheads. The emergency fire prevention computers kicked in but they caused the emergency containment doors to close on the engineers down there. We've been trying to get them open."

"Do you know what was the cause of the explosion?" Scott asked.

"We can't understand it ourselves." The Captain explained. "The engineers ran tests and checks on those motors before we left port. It's a long shot but, I have a feeling that they had been deliberately sabotaged."

Just hearing that word made my stomach sink into my legs. "Sabotaged? What makes you think it was that?"

"Well, we have had rival competitors that have tried to derail us since the early days of construction." The Captain theorised. "It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to destroy the ship while she was at sea. They almost succeeded but this ship is indestructible."

"So was the Titanic and look what happened to her." I countered.

"What are you implying, son?"

"Captain, I think your saboteur was smarter than that," I explained as I pointed to a flashing alarm on the wall behind him. "There's still a fire raging in Generator Room Three. If the flames ignite the atomic tanks this ship will go up. I don't think sinking her was their intention."

"Oh my god, you could be right! We must evacuate the ship immediately!"

"We'll do just that, Captain." Scott Calmly assured him. "Firstly, we need to get down there and free those men. John, you go and find Kayo, she should be still in our room. You'll both assist the Captain in getting the lifeboats underway. Virgil and I will go down to that engine room and get those men out of there."

"FAB." John acknowledged. "How many lifeboats are on board?"

"We have enough to carry the passengers and crew." The Captain replied as he put his hand on Scott's shoulder. "As for you two, we have firefighting suits on the utility deck. We should have some laser cutters onboard."

"Thanks, Captain. If the computers aren't smashed, we shouldn't need them. Okay boys, International Rescue is go!"

John hurried his way back towards our rooms while Scott and I descended into the bowls of the ships. The temperature began to rise when we reached the utility room. The smell of smoke began to waft through the deck. We were reaching the scene of the fire and we were going to have to tackle it without Thunderbird Two.

John

I was met with an eerie silence when arrived at our cabin deck. The place looked like a war scene. There were clothes and furniture thrown all over the place. I had a sudden urge to panic that something had happened to Kayo. I called out to her a few time but there was no reply. As I approached Scott's cabin, the evacuation alarms began to sound, adding to the creep factor. Scott's door had been busted inwards. It looked like forced entry. I entered his room and was met with a horrific sight. His room had been ransacked. As I searched the room, I found Kayo laying there in the corner of the room. I carried her out onto the deck where she then regained full consciousness. I checked her over and fortunately, she wasn't badly hurt.

"Kayo, What happened? Who did this to you?" I asked.

Her eyes fluttered as she began to cough up her words.

"It was... a Zombite spy!" She said. "He was definitely a Zombite. I was... on my back to get my wrist communicator when I saw him enter our room. He was ransacking the room looking for anything he could get his hands on. He appeared to be talking into an earpiece of sorts."

"Could you make out what he was saying?"

"All I could hear him say was something about a revenge plot." She replied as she rubbed her swollen head. "I thought I could get the drop on him but he was too fast. He smacked me over the head with something then the next thing I know, you're in the room and he's long gone. If only I knew which direction he was heading."

"Well, I don't think he would have gotten very far. We'll have to deal with that later. The Captain has ordered a complete evacuation of the ship. Are you okay to walk?"

"I'll be fine in a minute. Say, John! I think he knew we were going to be on the ship. His revenge plot was to destroy the ship while we were onboard."

"And he was going to steal anything we had in the process. The question is, how did he know where to find us?"

Kayo shot a horrified look at me. "He must have hacked my computer when I booked the vacation. I think we've been compromised!"

"Okay pass me that communicator," I said. "I'll call Brain and get him to check it out. In meantime, I'll call Gordon and Alan and get them to come out here. Something tells me we'll need Thunderbird Two."

"FAB, At least that agent didn't find the communicator."

"I think that's what he might have been looking for. If it wasn't for this device, we could have been cut off from the others." I said as I opened a channel. "John Tracy calling International Rescue. We have a situation."

Gordon's face hovered in front of us.

 _"Hi, John. Are you missing home already?"_

"Gordon, I don't have a lot of time to explain. We've had a Zombite Saboteur aboard. He's rigged this ship to blow. We're helping the crew and passengers evacuate but we'll need assistance. We need Thunderbird Two, Pod 4 and whatever emergency life rafts you can spare us."

" _FAB, bro. Hang tight. We're on our way."_

"Wait there's more. Kayo believes that the Zombites may have hacked Kayo's computer. Get Brains to have a look at our security systems will you?"

" _Sure thing. Good luck you guys!"_

Gordon's holographic image disappeared as we made our way towards the lifeboats. I Kayo trailed behind me at first, but the sea air helped her regain her focus. We were now racing against a clock without knowing the exact countdown. As far as we were concerned we had the easy job. The real danger sat below deck with Scott and Virgil. Thunderbird Two was yet to arrive. For all we knew, anything could happen in the next half hour.

To Be Continued.


	16. A Cruise To Remember Part Three

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

A Cruise to Remember

Part Three

by Virgil Tracy and Kayo Kyrano.

Virgil

Wearing our uncomfortable fire suits, we arrived at the generator rooms. We could see the calamity which was unfolding on the other side of the door. Smoke seeped into the corridor that we were standing in. I stood there with the laser cutters and watched as Scott felt his way to the command console. The smoke restricted our visibility which was fading with each passing second. Scott hammered the prefix codes console pad but he was having no luck. The console didn't respond.

"It's no good." He said as he reached for his laser rifle. "The console must have been short-circuited. We're going to have to cut our way through."

"Right. I'll cut off the mechanisms. You cut off the hinges." I agreed.

As we began to cut our way through the multiple layers of steel and iron, I could make out the shadows of the trapped men struggling to keep it together. The heat must have been unbearable in there. I admired their bravery. The smoke continued to fill the room while working against the clock. I had made short work on the door mechanisms so took a step back and waited for Scott to finish his end.

"Geez, this stuff is tough to cut through." He panted. "It's so hot down here. Stand by to rush them out of there. I'm almost through."

Retracting his laser, Scott and I knocked down the door on the count of three. A huge plume of thick black smoke took us by surprise. The intense temperature quickly followed. We couldn't see anything. Acting on adrenaline, I left Scott to get the trapped crew out. I was going to get a look at the sizzling reactor. I had to know how long we had left. I could see a series of flashing lights along with an LCD display. It was the reactor's reading chart. My eyes widened as the temperature needle inched its way towards the red danger zone. We had to get out of there. Fighting the smoke, I quickly regrouped with Scott and the crewmen.

"There you are. What on earth were you doing in there!?" He yelled.

"I got a look at the reactor," I explained as quickly as possible. "We've got to get out of here. We've got about Twenty-Five minutes tops before the ship blows!"

Scott turned to the crewmen. "Is there a quicker way off this deck?"

"There's an access shaft just around the corner." One of the men spoke up. "It leads to a ladder that takes you up to the lifeboats. It should save us minutes."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go boys!" Scott replied.

Locating the access shaft, we climbed through one at a time until we made it to service ladder. It was a long climb up, but it was our only option. The ladder took us straight up towards the upper decks. I led the crew up with Scott trailing behind. The air became fresher as we left the claustrophobic engine rooms behind. As we arrived at the galley, I could see a glimmer of light up ahead. We were approaching the surface. As I opened the top hatch and climbed out, we were introduced to the chaotic yet organised evacuation of the crew and passengers. The passengers calmly made their way into the designated lifeboats along with crew members. The Captain stood there on the bridge with John who had been busy coordinating the evacuation.

"Virgil!, Scott! You made it!" He shouted as we climbed up the stairs towards them. "How bad was it?"

"In Ten minutes it won't make a difference," I replied. "We better get off the ship ourselves."

"Understood," John said. "Gordon is on his way with Thunderbird Two. He should be here soon."

Suddenly, Scott grew concerned. "Where's Kayo?"

John and the Captain looked at each other. "She was supposed to be helping me. Oh no... I think I know where she's gone."

"Where?" Scott asked in frustration.

John then explained everything. "I found Kayo unconscious in your room. It had been ransacked by an attacker. She told me that it was a Zombite saboteur that was snooping around for evidence to expose us to his employers. She felt bad that she couldn't stop him. My guess is she's searching for him."

"Dammit! We don't have time for this!" Scott growled. "I'll go and look for her. You two better watch out for Thunderbird Two, She must know that this isn't the time or place for a fist fight!"

Kayo

I was fuming! I had been searching the upper decks for the Zombite agent who clubbed me. I had never been beaten like that before. It wasn't only insulting but it had made me feel vulnerable. I don't know what this scumbag was trying to prove, but I wasn't going to let him flee the ship and get away with it. I decided to take my chance and slip away during the evacuation. I knew that John wouldn't let me do it so I had to make my move when he wasn't looking. I didn't know how Scott and Virgil were getting on. I didn't know how long we had left to get clear but I wasn't going to stand around feeling this way. Intuition told me that the agent was still onboard somewhere and I was going to find him.

The upper decks had been left deserted. It was like stepping into a ghost town. The unsettling quiet enabled me to tune into the sound of movement and footsteps. I could hear the faint sound of motors echo behind me. I figured they were the lifeboats and pressed on. I arrived at the ship's Jazz bar when I made out a shape move across the rear set of windows. I decided to sneak around and take the figure by surprise, assuming it to be my attacker. With my back against the wall, I crept around the back of the bar until I was on the same side as the figure. I was then able to get a better look at him. The figure was a man who was wearing a ripped tuxedo. He looked like he had been in a scuffle with someone which just added to his ominous demeanour. I got a good look at his face too. It was covered in a thick, black moustache that curled at each end. His eyes homed in on mine. It was him! After shouting some sort of profanity at me, he bolted down the deck. I gave chase with the hope of tackling him there and then. He had gotten a good head start on me. The guy ran like an athlete. I knew I could pick up the chase if I took off my heels. How Penelope manages to run in them is beyond me. He continued to shout at me in his native language as he headed for the stairs. He threw furniture at me in and bid to slow me down, but I wasn't having any of it.

"I'm not letting you get away this time!" I yelled at him, hoping that he would understand me. "There's nowhere to run!"

Keeping on his heels, I followed the man down towards the bow of the ship. It was a literal dead end. His only option left open to him was to jump into the water. He skidded to a halt narrowing his gaze on me. I readied myself for a fight when he slowly stepped towards me.

"You have nowhere to run. You might as well stand down otherwise I'll knock you down." I warned him in a threatening stance.

The Zombite then stopped and paused. He began to reply to me... in English! It wasn't very good English, but he was clear enough to warn me of his people's intentions.

"This will not be over." He said as he turned to face the water. "It'll soon be time for International Rescue to end."

"What did you say?" I replied, stunned,

The Zombite didn't say anything else. He turned towards the edge and dived into the water. I hurried over to see if I could spot a getaway craft of some sort. He was nowhere to be seen. I sat myself up beside a wall. What did he mean? What was going to happen to us? As I sat there trying to get my breath back, I could hear Scott calling out to me. He eventually found me and tried to get my attention.

"There you are! Come on we've got to go!?" He shouted. "Kayo? Sweetie, Are you okay?"

" I saw him," I replied silently. "I saw my attacker. We're in danger."

But Scott ignored my words. "Kayo, we don't have time for this. Look, Thunderbird Two is almost here. We've got to get back to the others."

" I'm sorry. I - I didn't mean to run off." I stuttered.

Scott held me in his arms. "You can't afford to let your pride get in the way of duty. I know you feel pretty irate about this at the moment, but we'll catch him later. I promise. You were jumped and knocked unconscious. There was nothing you could have done."

I pulled myself away from him and looked into his eyes. "You're right. We'll catch him."

He smiled at me reassuringly. "That's my girl. Come on let's go."

As soon as we regrouped with the others on the bridge, we were met with a joyous sight. Thunderbird Two appeared over the horizon. Gordon brought her into hovering position above us and lowered the pod enough for us to climb aboard. The pod flap lowered, revealing Alan on the other side.

"Welcome aboard the S.S Green-Lady." He said as he helped us onboard one at a time. "Your in-flight movie today will be "Danger At Ocean-Deep." I must remind you all that there's no smoking onboard the flight."

Virgil decided to set his little brother straight. "Alan, Don't ever name my girl again. Who on earth calls their ship Green-Lady anyway?"

"Your welcome." Alan huffed as he informed Gordon of our boarding. "We're all set to go, Gordon. Let's get out of here."

" _FAB. Let's head for port."_

Hitting the throttle, Thunderbird Two blasted out of the area. Our hearts sank as we watched the Valentina erupt into a ball of flames. We had only just made it out. As for the passengers and crew, they were eventually picked up by two GDF rescue carriers. We left the Captain to rest in the pod with John while we followed Virgil into the cockpit.

"You handled her well, bro," Virgil said as he replaced Gordon behind the controls. "Thanks for the lift."

"Thank you for letting me fly her." Gordon smiled. "I guess you'll think twice about going vacation from now on? Oh and Kayo, your theory was correct. Somebody did hack our security systems without us knowing. Brains is working on a new system build."

"Okay, Gordon," I replied as I nestled my head into Scott's chest. "I just want to go to bed."

The trip home was the quietest one I had ever been on. All I could do was replay the Zombite's warning in my head.

" _ **This will not be over. It'll soon be time for International Rescue to end."**_

A storm was definitely coming.

END


	17. The Hunt

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

The Hunt

By Lady Penelope

As soon as word had gotten out about the sinking of the S.S Valentina, every agent on the GDF payroll had been dispatched to search for the person responsible. However, Kayo already revealed the identity of the attacker. It was a Zombite agent, who's intent was to murder my fellow International Rescue members who were onboard that ship. She had given me a detailed description of the agent including the area in which he escaped. Using our connections at the GDF, Park and I joined in on the search. We spend the next few weeks, teaming up with fellow agents and detectives that had potential leads on the seemingly elusive agent. Unfortunately, each lead wasn't conclusive and the trail would often turn cold. That was until Parker had used connections of his own and turned up a lead of his own. He had been in contact with an ex-jewel thief that had been living in rural England as a pub owner. He revealed that he had encountered the Zombites before who would use his establishment as a meeting place. They were never good being inconspicuous and would often broadcast their plans in public.

When we arrived in the area after a tiring drive, we were taken back by how desolate the town really was. The Pub in question sat at the end of a small street. It was dimly lit and didn't seem very inviting.

"We're 'ere, M'lady," Parker said as we pulled up outside. "Shall I wait here in the car?"

"Not this time, Parker," I replied. "I'll need you to identify this contact of yours. I'm still sceptical about his claim. It all sounds too good to be true."

"I can assure you, Mason Hargreaves can be trusted." Parker moaned. "He has been on the level for the past Twenty Years."

"Yes, so you keep saying," I said. "Let's just go in and find him. I don't want to argue this with you again."

Stepping inside, we were met with the foul stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol. The local punters hovered around the bar while a few shady figures lingered in the background around a small pool table. The bar manager instantly recognised Parker and locked eyes with him.

"Nosey? I thought that was you." He said as he placed down a dirty beer mug on the bar. "What are you doing here?"

" 'Ello, Mason. It's been a long time" Parker replied bluntly. "We've come to ask you a few questions."

"What about?" Mason asked. "Nothing happens around here I can assure you."

I wasn't having it. I could see that the guy was nervous so I approached him softly with another question.

"Mr Mason, it's about a certain group of gentleman that is wanted by the Global Defence Force. We believe that they are still in the country and have been seen here in your establishment."

Mason paused for a moment. His eyes darted around the room.

"Yeah, I've seen them. They've been coming here every night for the past few weeks. All they do is sit there in the back booth and talk away in a foreign language. One of the men looked like the feller who blew up that ship the other day."

"Is it possible that they will come in tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah. They always come in about 9 pm on the dot. They should be here in an hour."

I looked over at Parker. "It looks like we have a stakeout on our hands. I want to get a better look at those men."

"Excellent idea M'Lady." he agreed. "Mason, thanks for you're 'help, old boy."

That night, we waited across the street, masking FAB One in the shadows. I had relayed an update to Scott back on the island who suggested that we tail the suspect before we tackle them. At 9 pm rolled around, we spotted a small sedan pull up outside. It's headlights flicked off and three figured dressed in suits emerged. One of the figures were told to stay inside the car for some reason. This made our original plan difficult to execute. Parker was originally going to follow them into the pub and listen in, but now we were going to have to try something else. We drove across the street and parked FAB One in front of the small sedan. The driver instantly spotted us. He reached for a small device and dialled it. The other two men re-appeared a few minutes later. Before they could pile into the car, one of the men made the mistake of revealing his face in the beam of a street light. My heart began to race. It was him, the man who destroyed the Valentina. He made eye contact with me before shouting to the driver. They dived into the car shortly before screeching off into the night.

"After them, Parker. It appears we've flushed them out."

"They won't get far, M'Lady," Parker replied. "That road will take them away from the Motorway and out into the rural countryside."

"Good. At least we can take them down without causing a scene."

As we sped off after the men, Parker's knowledge of the road soon became validated. There was not a soul for miles around. It was likely that the three agents would run out of fuel and attempt to run on foot. We could see the glow of their tail lights up ahead. It was looking as if they would give up soon. Suddenly, they turned off the road and made off into the countryside. They had taken a small dirt path which had been riddled with potholes and muddy puddles. Parker switched on FAB One's new off-road mode. The road was no challenge at all. Suddenly, the sedan stopped and the three men abandoned the vehicle. To our surprise, they had hidden inside the ruins of an old fortress. The fortress itself had been listed a private property so blasting them out was not an option.

"Just how are we going to flush them out of that fortress?" I asked in a frustrated tone.

Parker stepped out of the car and started to fumble in the boot. I could hear him assemble some items together. Metal cylinders, smoke canisters, and even copper wiring. For the first time ever, he showed me a talent that I never knew he had. He had made a make-shift smoke grenade launcher.

"There are some stun weapons in the glove compartment, M'lady." He explained as he loaded the contraption with smoke canisters. "When I fire this gizmo into the fort, you can zap them when running outside."

"Parker, you are a genius," I said with a smile. "I forgot that Brains issued us with stun guns. We haven't had a reason to use them yet."

"I was 'oping we wouldn't have to," Parker replied.

As we crept towards the entrance to the Fortress, we could hear their voices reverberating off the walls. They were having an argument over something but it was in their native language. All we could do was make the assumption that they were arguing over their plan of escape. As we stood there and aimed our weapons, a rush of adrenaline and fear flooded my system. My instincts were warning me of an attack. I didn't fancy the idea of skirmishing with these gentlemen. Parker sensed this too as he readied his grenade launcher.

"On the count of three." He whispered. "Three...Two...One."

Parker fired a grenade into the darkened passage of the fortress. A loud hissing sound filled the structure. Seconds later, the three men began to cough and splutter at the thick smoke engulfed them. They were still showing signs of resistance so Parker fired another round. It eventually all became too much for them. The first Zombite emerged from the smog. He screamed at the top of he voice as he lunged towards Parker, forcing the launcher out of his hands. Parker grappled with the man while I trained my stun gun on him and fired, rendering him paralysed.

"Are you alright, Parker?" I asked as I helped him to his feet.

"I'm alright, M'Lady." He said as he dusted himself off. "Nothing a needle and thread can't patch up."

Suddenly, we could hear footsteps approaching us. We readied our stun guns just as the other two men emerged from the smog. These two didn't put up a fight. They looked down at their unconscious comrade and raised their arms in the air. I kept my weapon trained on them while Parker searched the car for something to tie their hands with. We remained there for the next few hours until a beam of light appeared in the distance. The silhouette of a GDF transport carrier emerged from the shadows. It touched down in a neighbouring field. A small battalion of men approached us to take the men away. Colonel Casey appeared from the transport. As she approached us, one of the Zombites cried out in broken English.

"The attack is coming! It is...COMING!"

However, the Colonel shot him an unphased look.

"Great work, Lady Penelope." She said looking back at me. "As soon as we got your transmitter beacon, I decided to come out here myself. Unfortunately, this is the start of a large global hunt."

"You mean that there is a larger cell out there?" I asked. "So they weren't just operating from within the UK."

"I'm afraid not." Casey continued. "Three of our agents went off the grid 15 hours ago. Their last report stated that they had found a Pyramid hidden in the heart of the Sahara Desert. Their transmission ended with the sound of gunfire followed by an explosion. We don't know if they were killed on site or kidnapped. One thing remains clear though. The whole world is open to an attack from this group of terrorists and we've barely scratched the surface of their intelligence network."

"How can International Rescue help in all this?" I asked.

"They can't." The Colonel said sternly. "Since the incident on the Valentina, International Rescue is much a target as everyone else. The best thing you all can do is defend yourselves well. Kayo's report said that their security systems had been hacked. There's a good possibility that they know where your base is now. As for Parker and yourself, well you better make yourself scarce and see to it they don't target your home."

The thought of this sent chills to my bones. I suddenly became very frightened at the prospect of an all-out attack. In all my years of working for International Rescue and the GDF, never had I felt so scared. The Hood never achieved anything on this scale nor did the Mechanic or the Luddites. The Zombites were a group not to be trifled with, and it would be only a matter of time before they played their hand against International Rescue.

END


	18. Juggernaut On The Moon

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

 **Inspired by the events in the UFO Television episode "The Responsibility Seat."**

Juggernaut on the Moon

By Alan Tracy

For countless years, the Moon had been a hotbed of activity. It had seen Moonbases, mining companies and science excursions all come and go. Now, it was the property of a joint American/ Russian rigging company. They had been working up there for the past three years, working on setting up the first lunar spaceport. Sure it doesn't sound like anything new, but it was actually a major step for the human race. They were called "Albatross Industries" and they had been doing a pretty fine job up there. In fact, they had been so quiet up there that you'd think that International Rescue wouldn't even need to pay them a visit in case something went wrong. Well, unfortunately, that wasn't the case at all.

We Were all sitting in the lounge watching the news as a family. We decided to take our minds off of the Zombite threat that been eating away at us when the events of this story began. A breaking news report snapped us out of our relaxed state. A live satellite image of the lunar surface appeared behind the news presenter. We could see an object traversing the surface, kicking up a large dust cloud behind it.

 _"Our breaking story. Albatross industries have reported that they have lost all contact with one of it's Juggernaut rigs. The incident began a few hours ago when a crew of three set off to repair a drilling station on the far side of the Moon. The director has stated that all attempts have been made to contact the men, but so far they have not replied. He then refused to comment on the steps that they are taking to retrieve the Juggernaut. More on this story later and in other news..."_

"I don't like the sound of this at all," Scott said. "The thought of one of those things going AWOL on the Moon could spell disaster."

Brains stood up. "Agreed. T-there are several installations on the Moon that house a vast majority of toxic chemicals. I-if they can't communicate with the Juggernaut then there could be a potential ecological explosion."

"So what do we do?" I asked. "John hasn't reported it in. My guess is that Albatross have no intention of asking for our help."

"Well, that's too bad," Scott said. "We're going anyway. Alan, Brains, Let's go and find out what's happened to that Juggernaut."

"Alright!" I replied as I took a seat on the launch couch. "Thunderbirds Are Go!"

Moments later, Thunderbird Three soared through the sky towards the atmosphere. As soon as we settled Brains... "space sickness"... we were en route to the Moon. Scott had made repeated attempts to contact the director at Albatross, but he refused to answer. Once he did finally answer the call, he refused to tell us anything.

" _International Rescue, I appreciate your concern, but we've got the situation under control. You didn't need to come out here. Please leave this to us. Albatross out!"_

"Ignorant son of a..." Scott grumbled under his teeth. "Well I don't know what you both saw, but I saw a man who couldn't keep things together."

"I think he's trying to think of his company's r-reputation." Brains added. "I can't stand people like that."

"No, not unless you are Mr Hackenbacker." I sneered.

Scott clearly heard that remark. "That's enough, Alan. Right, I've got the Juggernaut on my screen. Let's go down there and take a look."

"FAB, I'll gear up for a spacewalk," I said as I floated towards the utility room.

"I'll come too." Brains said as he followed me.

As Scott took us closer towards the surface, the Juggernaut came into view. It was eerie just looking at it. There wasn't a soul around trying to stop this thing. Scott took us in closer, bringing my Thunderbird to a parallel course above the rig.

"Okay boys, you're set." He said. "Meanwhile, I'll stay up there and scout around."

"FAB, bro." I replied as I activated my thruster pack. "You ready, Brains?"

Brains took a look down at the drop and gulped. "R-R-Ready, Alan."

"Okay on the count to three... one …. two... three!"

Our thruster packs hissed to life, propelling us down towards the Juggernaut's only entrance. It was a small circular hatch that was located on top of the cabin section, I was the first one to land on top of it. After gently guiding Brains down, we began to cut our way through the door. This thing had been built like a tank. We didn't expect to take so long getting in. As soon as we got the door off, we descended into a dark cabin. The three men sat there fastened in their seats, Checking their pulses, we made the decision to put their space helmets on to give them some air. Something had caused them pass out and it didn't take Brains long to suss out what it was.

"What have you found? What caused all this?"

"It appears that t-they had a leak in one of the coolant valves." He explained. "When it erupted, It flooded the cabin with gas. That must have been what rendered them unconscious."

"Are they going to be okay?"

"The gas wasn't lethal. T-they should be okay. The air in their tanks should flush it out of their systems."

With one mystery solves, I sat down behind the main drive. I tried to move the steering wheel, but it was locked solidly in place. A red light blinked away in front of me. The automatic computer had locked itself on. Without the manual codes, I couldn't gain control of the Juggernaut. Of course, Brains had a solution to that too.

"Do you think we can bypass this lockout?" I asked him. "I don't really want to sit here and possibly crash into something."

"I can short out the computer's navigation systems." Brains replied as he removed a plate from under me. "If I can just remove the central power supply then...t-there! You should have manual control now."

Sure enough, he was right. The wheel loosened in my hands. Now that I had control of the rig, I needed to find a place to stop it. The problem was, I didn't know how to stop it. Brains searched the cabin for a shutdown sequence of some kind. I could hear him playing around with various computers behind me. He found the code that could shut the thing down, but as luck would have it, there was one drawback. The code would start a shut down of the reactor but it took exactly five minutes to complete. It turns out that Juggernaut's are complicated things to start up and shut down. We needed to conserve time, so I called up to Thunderbird Three and asked Scott to scout ahead for us. As I watched my brother whiz off over the horizon, Brains discovered the crew's route map. His jaw dropped when he traced the route with his finger.

"Alan, this rig is on a direct course for a chemical plant." He explained. "This whole area is littered with them!"

I looked back at him in disbelief. "So you mean, no matter which direction I take, we could potentially hit one of these things?"

"If this map is accurate then yes. We're in close proximity of three of them."

"Well, that's just great. We better hope that this thing stops before we hit one of them otherwise Albatross could be faced with a huge cleaning bill."

"N-Not to mention our deaths."

"That too. In any case, I need to pick a direction. We'll go left and hope for the best."

Making a ninety-degree angle, we headed left. Scott eventually returned to fill us in on what he had found. His image floated before me.

 _"Alan, it doesn't look promising but there is one chance. Ahead of you, is a small chemical plant but beyond it is an open stretch of the surface. If you can keep the Juggernaut at your current rate of speed, you should be able to steer her right past the plant and out to safety. You've got about Four minutes."_

"Scott that's not good enough," I replied. "Our motors shut down in Three. We'll never make it!"

 _"Just keep her going as much as you can,"_ Scott assured me. _"You've got this bro. Just relax and concentrate. I've alerted the staff at the plant. They have cleared the area for you."_

"FAB." I sighed. "Better fasten your belt, Brains. I'm not expecting this to be smooth anytime soon."

As the shut town clock ticked away, our hearts sank into our chests. The chemical plant sat there in the distance. Our hopes of passing it began to dwindle when...

"Oh no! The reactor is beginning to shut down but we're still moving!"

"The rig is cruising at a-an slight slope. It's adding momentum." Brains replied. "We're running out of time."

Suddenly just then, I had a brainwave. "Our speed is steadily decreasing. We could still make it. I just need to cheat a little."

Slamming on the emergency breaking units, I grappled with the Juggernaut's controls. It was like trying to tame a wild beast. I felt as if my arms were going to pop out of their sockets. There were still Two minutes to go and the trick started to work. The wheels skidded uncontrollably across the lunar dust. Seconds later, they began to spark and even explode. One by one, the rear wheels exploded, forcing me to break my concentration. Despite the lack of wheels, the Juggernaut kept on going. We had now approached the last minute mark. The Juggernaut smashed its way through the gates to the plant. All that was left was a long stretch towards the main tanks. Brains had one last trick up his sleeve. Acting on his gut instincts, he pulled himself out of his seat and made his way towards the computer terminal. I could hear him tapping away behind me. What could he be doing at a time like this?

"What are you doing back there!?" I yelled.

"Chutes!" He replied.

Did I hear him correctly? "What?"

"B-Breaking Chutes!" He said as he smacked a button. "Hang on!"

Suddenly, two giant parachutes emerged from the rear section. We both jolted forward as the chutes went to work. With Ten seconds left we could feel the reactor beginning to close down. It was working. However, we were reaching the tanks. I closed my eyes and shielded myself from a possible explosion. I couldn't bear to watch. Then suddenly, everything went quiet. The sound of warning lights buzzed away in the background. Heated metal clanked away as well. I gently opened my eyes to see that we had stopped. We were just metres away from touching the tanks. As I sat back in that chair to gather my thoughts, Scott called through again.

 _"Alan, from Scott. You did it, boys! You actually did it! Stay put. I'm approaching your position."_

We sat there in complete silence and waited. From the time it took for Thunderbird Three to get here, I couldn't help but play back the events that just happened. We nearly died again and it wasn't at the hands of an enemy. No, this time, the enemy was a faulty computer system. The one thing you'd think wouldn't be a hazard in this day and age. I checked on Brains to see how he was doing. He sat there shaking. I placed my arm on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Brains, thank you," I said. "I would have died today if you hadn't been here with me."

He looked up at me with the slightest bit of confidence and said. "I m-may be a coward when it comes to all forms of travel but I don't plan to die no matter what happens."

On that note, I'm going to end the story there. As soon as Scott arrived to pick us up, Albatross Industries received countless lawsuits from the families of those three men. It's not exactly a happy ending but it's what you get for not acknowledging your mistakes. At least I can tick driving a Juggernaut off my bucket list though. Say, there's your happy ending!

END


	19. Zombite Storm Part One

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Zombite Storm

Part One

By Scott Tracy

In the end, a threat will never go away. You can subdue it and hold it off for a while but eventually, it'll catch up with you and present a challenge you never thought you could possibly overcome. It was on this day that International Rescue had to face it's toughest challenge yet. The mysterious Zombite organisation had finally played its move. Without us all knowing, they had sprung a trap on us. This is what happened.

It began in the early hours of the morning. I lay there restless in my bed at thought of these mysterious attackers completing their mission whatever that mission was. My clock said that it was 6 am so I decided that I'd make an early breakfast and watch the news. As I entered the kitchen, I discovered that Virgil had already beaten me to it. He too had been troubled by the worldwide threat. Since Penelope warned us of her findings into the cruise ship incident, none of us really felt safe.

"Couldn't sleep either huh?" I said as my weary brother poured me a cup of coffee. "Just what is happening to us? We are devoted to saving lives and this threat has reduced us to cowards. "

Virgil yawned. "We're only human you know. Fear is a natural instinct and besides, we're not the only ones. These... Zombites. They've threatened the whole planet. The way I see it, they don't have enough manpower to do that. It's all a big show force. I'm confident that nothing is going to happen to us."

"If you truly believed that then you would still be in bed sound asleep," I replied. "Virgil, you don't need to reassure me. I can handle it."

"I'm just worried about your stress disorder," Virgil added. "I don't want you thinking that you can handle this crisis on your own. You always do that."

"Old habits die hard I guess." I sighed. "I suppose I better check in with John in a minute. See how's he doing. He's in the safest place at the moment. I wish I was up there with him."

Virgil placed his arm on my shoulder. "Yeah we all wish we were, but I don't think we're all going to fit in Thunderbird Five."

"No, I guess not. Anyway, we're still on high alert until Colonel Casey gives us the all clear."

The rest of the family joined us in the lounge. It was still a respectively quiet morning. The sea was calm with no sign of activity. However, my instincts had told me to check in with John at an earlier time than usual. Something was nagging at me as if a little voice inside was shouting "You're all in danger!"

"Base calling Thunderbird Five, come in John."

John's free-floating image appeared before us. Usually, when I'd call him, he would be relaxed and motivated, but just seeing the expression on his face raised a few red flags.

" _Scott, I'm picking up a cargo plane heading into the vicinity of the base."_ He reported. _"It left New York this morning before the tower lost contact with it. It unexpectedly changed course Fifteen minutes ago."_

"Where was it originally heading?" Gordon spoke up.

 _"I've taken a look at the flight's papers. It was making a delivery run to South Africa when the crew suddenly went silent. Nobody has a clue about what is going on."_

"Then we'll need to be on alert," I said. "At that speed, it'll pass over the island in Thirty minutes."

Alan sat down his plate and wiped the crumbs from his mouth. "Well, I was enjoying this third round of toast. I better get dressed. Race you all to the shower."

"Kayo's already in there, kid," Grandma informed him. "You're just going to have to smell in the meantime."

Virgil looked at me. "You go and get dressed. I'll cover the radar watch until you get back."

"FAB bro," I replied, rubbing the gunk from my eyes.

I shouldn't have left that room for a second. As soon as I got dressed, I heard a commotion coming from in the lounge. I entered the room to hear John updating the family. Kayo followed me in.

"What's going on?" I asked.

John pulled up another image on our radar screens. Six objects were approaching the island at lightning speed.

" _We have six fighters coming in from the West."_ He explained. _"Brains is trying to identify them now."_

The grim news quickly followed as Brains entered the lounge.

"I have made a visual identification." He said. "T-those aircraft are Zombite fighters!"

"How the hell did they find us!?" Alan screamed. "What are we going to do!?"

"We need to defend the island from an all-out attack," I replied. "Brains, get Grandma down to the emergency shelter and stay there. John, what is the update on that transporter?"

 _"It'll be overhead in five minutes. What are we going to do? "_

"I'm afraid we've wandered into a trap," I replied as I connected up the dots. "The GDF would be too late to help us. We better standby to launch all Thunderbirds."

Suddenly, John's image began to flicker and buzz erratically. Something was jamming his transmission intensifying the situation. Then another figure appeared. It was a heavily armoured man dressed in a fighter pilots uniform. A thick beard covered his face, his eyes were hidden in shadow and a huge "Z" emblem shimmered on top of his helmet. He began to speak in his native language so Kayo switched on the automatic translator. His message confirmed my suspicions.

 _"International Rescue. Your day of reckoning has come. We have your organisation trapped at the mercy of the Zombite Empire. Right now, a transporter is flying on a course over your base. It would be set on crash dive towards your base. Should you attempt to rescue the plane in your impressive machines, we will shoot you out of the sky. You a choice to make. Surrender your base or be destroyed. You have Five minutes. The choice is yours."_

I could feel the rage eating away at my stomach lining. I wasn't prepared to surrender our home to these savages. My family wholeheartedly agreed. There was still a way out of this predicament, but it did mean that we'd have to use our Thunderbirds and push them to the limit. I turned round to face everyone who was waiting for my instructions.

"Virgil, Gordon, Alan. When I give the signal, I want you to launch Thunderbird Two and divert that transporter away from the island. Use stun guns and keep them on you at all times."

"What about those fighters?" Gordon reminded me. "As soon as we take off, they'll blast us out of the sky."

"No, they won't,"I assured him. "Kayo and I will keep them busy. Thunderbirds 1 and Shadow will use their speed and weapon capabilities to distract and disable the fighters. They look out of shape according to the photo ID so hopefully, we'll gain the advantage. At no point will they ever set foot on this island. It's our island so let's keep it in one piece huh?"

"FAB," Virgil replied as he beckoned my brothers to go with him. "Suit up boys. Let's go."

As I watched my brothers head off for the hangar, Kayo wrapped her arms around me.

"This is a very bold move." She said. "I'm proud of how well you're handling this."

"I guess I can't afford to panic over this," I said. "Still, I can't do this alone though."

She grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it. "Then let's go out there and take them on together."

Suiting up, we made our way to our Thunderbirds. Kayo was the first to take off as she fired up Shadow's thrusters. I quickly followed in Thunderbird One. Determination set in instantly. As soon as I was airborne, I tracked down and sent a message out to the Zombite pilot from earlier.

"Zombite attack force, this is International Rescue. We've made our decision and we've decided to see you out of our airspace. It's about time you lot got a lesson in manners. Hope you're all good swimmers."

Setting a course, we raced towards the incoming fighters. The fight for Tracy Island was about to begin.

To Be Continued.


	20. Zombite Storm Part Two

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Zombite Storm

Part Two

By Kayo and Gordon Tracy

Kayo

After a quick and successful takeoff, we quickly engaged the enemy fighters. They broke off into attack formation as soon as they got within firing range, but Scott had to make sure that we're doing the right thing before we could make a move.

" _Disable their engines with an EMP round. Use a level 4 charge."_

"FAB," I replied as I primed my weapons. "We'll try and heard them back out towards the sea."

" _Good thinking. If that fails, we'll drive over to Mateo island and keep them there until the GDF arrive. I've sent out a code red to them. They should be here within the hour."_

"We'll have to make do with what we've got then, Scott. I just hope that Shadow has enough rounds to last."

Suddenly, the first of the fighters began to engage us. The pilot took a shot a Scott but missed by a few meters. Scott swung around and began to chase the lead fighter. Two others then turned their attention to me. I already had one in my target sights so I instantly took the shot. The fighter sparkled in a fluorescent blue light as the EMP charge took out its engines. I couldn't get a clear sighting of it hitting the ocean because the second fighter decided to return the courtesy. I pulled back on the controls, sending Shadow rocketing up through the cloud barriers. The fighter proceeded to follow me obviously thinking that it could take me down, but he was unaware of the trick I was about to pull on him. I swung hard about, forcing Shadow into a nose dive. The fighter entered my targeting screen. It was only going to be there for a matter of seconds so I had to take the shot.

I tried to fire but it was too difficult. Warning lights began to sound in the cockpit. I was diving too steep. I closed my eyes and fired another EMP missile. It was either going to hit the fighter or I was going to collide into it nose first. A small flash of light touched the side of my face. I opened my eyes to see the fighter plummet to the ocean in a thick plume of smoke. Pulling back hard on the stick, I levelled up out of the dive and took the next few seconds to relocate the rest of the fighters. I could see Thunderbird One zipping around over the horizon. The remaining three fighters converged on her. I couldn't let her have all the fun.

"Scott, hang tight!" I said as his distorted image flickered in front of me.

" _Hurry...fffzzt...I've lost my right motor...ffffzzt..."_

As I got to within firing range, I could make out the full extent of the damage to Thunderbird One. Her right motor was on fire, his stabilisers were a little dented but still operating. Brains had built all of our crafts to withstand a fight from the elements but they weren't designed to be used in combat. Shadow, on the other hand, was designed to take out the trash. Sweeping in, I took down one of the attacking fighters. The pilot ejected as his electrified craft smacked into the ocean. Scott performed a knife manoeuvre in a bid to shake off the remaining two fighters. His plan worked just long enough for him to disable one of them. He left the last fighter to me as I had the advantage in speed. Scott's figure floated before me again. This time, the transmission interference had cleared itself up.

" _I'm losing power. You're going to have to take care of the last one. I've got to get Thunderbird One back to base before I crash myself."_

"FAB, just be careful. Okay?"

" _I will."_ He smiled. _"I just hope that Thunderbird Two made it to the transporter safely."_

Shooting down the last fighter jet, I checked my radar scope which detected Thunderbird Two above us. It had reached the vicinity of the transporter plane. We were not out of the woods just yet but I was confident that we were going to win this.

Gordon

The transporter slowly glided across the sky over the island. As we got close to it, I could feel the muscles in my stomach tighten. We didn't know what we were going to find onboard that plane. Alan had been preparing for every possible theory. Virgil kept Thunderbird Two steady until we reached a safe position behind the transporter's hangar doors. He then tapped away at his computer panel attempting to hack his way into the computer mechanism.

"Well, we can't get in through that way." He said. "The Zombites must have had the access codes changed. These GDF ones are no good."

"There must be an emergency exit or something that we can get through?" Alan spoke up. "Fly over her and let's see."

"Alright." Virgil sighed. "There better be something, We're running out of time."

Once we were over the transporter, Alan and I descended from Thunderbird Two. Inspecting the hatch, we discovered that it was unlocked from on the inside. This thing wasn't completely automated like we previously thought. It was extremely dark inside which made things really ominous. My instinct told me that was walking into yet another trap. Switching on our flashlights, Alan and I advanced towards the cockpit. The dull vibrations from the engines made it sound like we were inside the belly of the beast. It all seemed clear at first until something startled Alan.

"Someone's behind us!" Alan whispered.

I stopped in my tracks and homed my ears in on the background. Sure enough, I could hear the sound of shuffling footsteps behind me. I spun around, reaching for my stun gun when a Zombite jumped out at me from the shadows. I smacked the floor with a thud, dropping my stun gun in the confusion. Alan instantly reacted by zapping the attacker with an electric jolt. The Zombite wriggled around in pain before passing out in front of us.

"Are you alright?" Alan asked as he helped me up.

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks," I replied. "I don't ever want to go through that again though. That's for sure."

Alan looked around. "I can't see anyone else. This guy probably decided to stay behind and greet us. We better get to the cockpit."

We entered the cockpit to see Tracy Island in its sights. We were diving straight for it without a time check to go by. We threw ourselves behind the controls and fought with them in an effort to regain control. My arms began to ache a few minutes later. We had switched over to manual control, but the controls refused to respond.

"It's no good!" I sighed. "They're frozen solid. Brains and Grandma will have to evacuate the island."

"Don't be so defeatist! We're not licked yet!" Alan snapped. "Thunderbird Two, Virgil. We're having no luck down here. The controls have frozen. Any suggestions?"

 _"You'll have to do a complete reset of all the systems,"_ Virgil replied. _"I've been looking at the technical specifications and it can be done in as little as three minutes."_

"Umm, Virgil? I don't think we have three minutes." I replied as I observed the controls in front of me. "However, I think I can overrun the motors and buy us some time."

Alan looked at me with a smile. "Now that's the spirit."

Switching on the reverse thrusters, the Transporter's engines roared to life. The sudden shove from the motors hit us in our stomachs. This prompted me to fasten my safety belt. I should have done that in the first place really. Alan started to rip apart the metal plates from underneath the console.

"Well, we better get started." He said. "It's our only chance if we want a home to return to."

I didn't say another word as we got to work. The thought of only having mere minutes left haunted my conscience. This whole victory over the Zombites was in our hands.

To Be Continued.


	21. Zombite Storm The Conclusion

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **By Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.**

Zombite Storm

The Conclusion

By Alan and Virgil Tracy

Alan

My heart raced like it was trying to escape my chest. Gordon and I had been carrying out a full system reset inside this giant garbage container that heading for our home. I could hear Gordon fumbling about with some wires along with the usual cursing under his breath. Wouldn't catch little innocent me using language like that. The island grew closer with each passing second. Without checking, strapped ourselves in again and prepared to power up.

"We've only got one shot at this," Gordon said as he flipped the ignition switch. "Here we go."

The transporter's engines roared to life once more, greeting us with the luck that we sorely needed. The nose controls were starting to respond. I could feel the stick easing up when I pulled it back. We still had one problem though. A transporter of this sheer size needed a lot of distance to pull out of a dive and we didn't have it. Even if we managed to pull out of the dive, we would still hit the island. Thankfully, our ever talented brother had another trick up his sleeve.

"Virgil, we're going to need help lifting this rust bucket out of this dive," I said, explaining the situation. "Do you think you could use Thunderbird Two to give us a push in the right direction?"

" _I'm not entirely sure how, but I have something I can try."_ He replied. _"I'm going to get underneath you and push using the pod's new magnetic rams."_

"Wait we have new tech?" Gordon asked. "I'm all for that although we won't know if it'll work or not. "

"Gordon, less moaning, more flying okay?" I huffed. His negativity was really getting on my nerves. "It's got to work unless you like to be, Oh I don't know... dead!"

"Alright! Alright! I was just saying." Gordon barked back. "You need to cool your head! Pressure never was your strong suit!"

I wasn't having it. "Says you! All you've done is moan and distract me! If we weren't crashing into Tracy Island I would have bailed us out and slapped you once our chutes were deployed!"

Virgil chimed in. _"Will you two pack it up! I'm underneath you right now. It would help if you pulled this_ _plane out of the air!"_

"What? Oh yeah!...Maximum thrust!"

The pressure in the cockpit could smash the windows at this rate. We were really putting our all into this. The controls began to fight with us again, but we couldn't let it. As soon as the villa came into view, we knew that we were out of time. Virgil continued to push underneath. We could hear Thunderbird Two's alarms whaling over the radio. It was terrifying but believe it or not, we were lifting! The peak of the island disappeared beneath the cockpit windows replacing our view with the baby blue sky. The controls began to ease up at this point when Virgil made his next move.

" _Firing retros!"_

"FAB." I complied. "Firing ours too. Let's ditch this thing in the water."

Thunderbird Two fired her retro thrusters. As soon as we were level again, Virgil released the magnetic rams, leaving us to finish the job. Gordon and I looked at each other. We were exhausted. Our faces were sweaty and beetroot red. We really thought were going to die. We hadn't come this close to death in a long time. Although we were left to ditch the jet, Virgil remained alongside in case our landing would be a bad one. We kept her on an even keel until the last possible second so that the wings wouldn't rip off upon impact.

"Good luck bro," Gordon said as he reached out and held my hand. "I'm sorry for being a jerk. You're a lot braver than me."

"I'm sorry too." I smiled. "Brace yourself, bro."

The aircraft smacked the ocean with a thud, tossing us about the cockpit. The control panel began to catch fire, sparks flew everywhere and thick smoke began the flood the aircraft. We were a little dazed but had to get out of there. Grabbing each other, we navigated our way through the smoke towards the exit hatch. Virgil hovered above. As soon as we're on the hull, we climbed into the emergency elevator before ascending into the safety of Thunderbird Two. We sat there in the hold, coughing and spluttering until we could clear the smoke from our lungs. When we arrived in the cockpit, we were shocked in awe. The Transporter exploded into a huge ball of flames. We watched it disappear beneath the waves seconds later. Virgil looked over at the pair of us. We were both sweaty, tired and smelling of smoke.

"That was too close." He said as he reached out to hug us. "We did it, boys. We actually did it!"

"I just want to go home." Gordon sighed. "I smell, I ache and I just want a drink."

"Brother, you're not the only one." I agreed. "I guess, the Zombites gave us a taste of their power and lost. Maybe it's fate that we're meant to cheat death."

Virgil had a different view on the matter though. "I like to think that Dad is out there, giving us the spirit that we need to keep this world in safe hands. Come on let's head for home. I can see GDF transports on the ground."

Virgil

As soon as we touched down, we changed into our plain clothes and made our way up to the lounge. Everybody had been celebrating their victory over the Zombite attack. Even Colonel Casey indulged herself in a glass of wine. As soon as Scott locked eyes with the three of us, a huge tidal wave of emotion set in amongst everyone.

"You three are amazing!" He said as he pulled us in for a group hug, "Well done brothers! I'm so proud of International Rescue today."

"I'm so proud with all of you," Grandma added. "You really took on your Dad's instincts and heart when you were out there risking your lives. He would be so proud of you too if he were here."

"Well, we do have a legacy to fulfil, Grandma," I said. "I'd be heartbroken if anything were to happen to it. It's a pity that our Thunderbirds won't last as long though. I guess I better go and repair her."

"All in good time, Virgil. Right now you're going to enjoy this little get together and relax. You can't be shy all the time" Grandma replied.

Colonel Casey then stepped forward. "For once, I have something to add to the good news as well. We've had reports that the central Zombite cell has been raided. We made several arrests and unearthed a plot to attack the President himself."

Scott looked down at the floor. "I hate to think what could have happened if they got away with it. I mean they had nearly beaten us today."

Casey rested her hand on his shoulder. "The fact is they didn't because you all pulled off a coordinated effort to stop them. They went in with no plan in mind. You see they may be strong, but they aren't intelligent and that was what led to their arrest. They had no idea that we were coming for them because they didn't think to secure every entrance to their Pyramid. All my officers had to do was cut the cameras and they were in."

"Well how about that then?" I said smugly. "Even the Hood has a better IQ than them."

Kayo walked over and gently grabbed Scott by the arm. "Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but this boy right here promised to take me out to dinner this evening."

"Oh right, yeah. I'll catch you all later." Scott chucked as she dragged him away.

I noticed that the expression on Alan's face began to change. He couldn't hide his feelings for her even if he tried. That moment in the cave had just opened the floodgates for him. The least I could do was promise him that things would look up.

"Come on, bro. Let's go for a walk shall we?" I suggested. "I know how you feel about her, but she really wanted to reconcile with Scott in the first place."

"I know. I'm just being an idiot." Alan sighed. "It's just. I don't think I'll ever meet a girl who can compete with her. I shouldn't have left it too long."

I wasn't very good at giving advice but I was going to give it a whirl. "Then you know what you have to do then, don't you? Don't look for a girl like her. Look for someone who wants to know you. I mean come on look at you. You're funny, you're smart and you're not a show off like Gordon. You've inherited a lot of Dad's morals too. You just need to apply them in the social world. Be Alan Tracy just don't get too egotistical and she'll come running to you."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Maybe you're right. I don't get out much as it is. Perhaps you could take me to the local nightclubs or something?"

"Bro, it'll be my pleasure." I agreed. "You know, we've all got to move forward now even if it means venturing off the island now and again. You don't get to do it enough when you ought to. Our little near-death experience has really put things into perspective. Let's live our lives the way Dad would have wanted us to."

As the day came to an end, I went to bed with a new lease on life. I couldn't help but think about the future. A future where International Rescue would continue. A future where I would have a family of my own. Yeah. Maybe I should have used that advice r myself as well.

THE END


	22. Avalanche

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **Volume two**

 **by Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. This new series of one-shot adventures are set in 2068.**

Avalanche

by Virgil Tracy

International Rescue spent most of its new year working in an old abandoned base in the Himalayan mountains. Brains had acquired it under one of his many aliases as it provided a good deal of land for us to test out our new equipment and systems, Pretty boring stuff, I know. We had all been there since the end of January since we had the time. Deep within the snow and ice, sat our Thunderbirds. They hadn't seen action in a while as most of the tests were carried out in separate laboratories. Brains had this fascination with adapting the Firefly pod to cope with arctic conditions. So basically in my mind, he was just turning it into a glorified snow plow.

I sat there in the rest lounge with my miserable brothers. Alan hugged the heater as if it was his girlfriend, Scott would linger by the coffee pot with Gordon and Kayo made sure that nobody touched her hot chocolate. Who knew that we would get so territorial out here? I would often sit there on the couch and listen to their petty arguments. They were mostly funny but at the same time, you had to ask yourself, what was Brains doing to us?

"I really miss that sunshine." Alan moaned. "I think we take it for granted back home."

"I can't believe that we've spent the past month out here just to play with the snow," Gordon added. "Our tech could handle the elements anyway so I don't see why Brains had to make it all better?"

"You boys will be thanking him once we have to go out on call," I said, reminding them. "We've never really found it easy when we've had to deal with snow storms and icy conditions."

"Virgil's right." Scott agreed. "If Brain's is going to improve our stuff then the least we can do is give him the time he needs. Now I know it's rough on everybody, but we're just going to have to stick it out until his tests are completed, okay?"

Before they could answer, we were distracted by a distorted call from John. We hadn't seen his face in weeks so it made a welcome change along with his message.

"Hey, John," Scott said. "Nice to see your face. What's going on?"

John just got to the point. " _We've just received a message from a Russian air force base near your location. One of their fuel tankers was traversing a mountain road when they were caught in an Avalanche. The crew reported no casualties but they reported a damaged computer and a leak in their fuel tank."_

"We can get there in there no time at all," Scott replied. "Give us the location once we're underway. Come on, Virgil. It's time to fire up Thunderbirds One and Two."

"FAB," I replied. "Come on, boys. You'll both be needed. I guess we can put these modifications to a real test."

Suiting up, the hangar doors opened above us. Scott took off in Thunderbird One and flew on ahead while we loaded the pod with all our new fancy tech. Brains weren't really happy with the results, but it wasn't like he had any choice in the matter.

"V-Virgil, please be careful." He fretted. "I can't be certain that controls on the Snow Fly won't overheat. I still haven't fully tested it yet."

"Brains, we'll be fine," Gordon assured him. "We'll handle her gently."

"Snow Fly?" Alan muttered. "He could have picked a better name?"

With the pod loaded, we took off in Thunderbird Two. We eventually caught up with Scott who had been busy making a sweep of the area. He had spotted the truck. Only it's cabin section was noticeable as it stuck out like a sore thumb under a huge mountain of snow and rock. Our first job was to find a suitable place to land. Alan used our computers to search for a suitable spot while I got the rundown from Scott.

" _Thunderbird Two, I've made contact with the crew inside the truck. Here's the situation. They have a fuel leak that is seeping into the electrics of their truck. They've reported smoke and a small fire which they are keeping under control. We better get them out of there quick.."_

"FAB." I acknowledged as Alan gave me a location to set down. "We'll be there as soon as possible."

After touchdown, The three of us made our way into the pod and set up the... Snow Fly. I really need to change the name later. A few moments later, we were exposed to the harsh winter elements. However, everything held together when we approached the mountain pass road. She handled like a beaut. Even my brothers were starting to regret the complaints that they had made earlier on. Unfortunately, it didn't take us long to encounter our first obstruction. A huge pile of debris had blocked the pass. There was no way we could shift it without damaging the surrounding rock wall.

I called up to Scott. "Snow Fly to Thunderbird One, we can't get through. Have you got any ideas?"

" _I have one idea I could try."_ He said thoughtfully. _"Stay well clear. I'm going to blast the rock clear of the road."_

We reversed to a safe distance and watched. Scott whizzed above our heads, firing an explosive charge at the rock formation. The small controlled explosion sent the rock in all directions. As soon as the dust cleared, we were good to go. As the minutes followed, we were soon on the side of the mountain. The already treacherous road started to thin down to a single lane. You could tell that half of it had crumbled away over the years. I don't know how those guys in the truck thought they were going to manage it. The road was just wide enough to support the Snow Fly. I told Alan and Gordon not to look out of the window because all they would see was a sheer drop.

"Play it real slow, Virgil. I don't fancy going over the edge." Alan stuttered. He obviously had taken a look out of the window.

"I told you not to look out of the window," I replied. "Okay, I can see the truck ahead. We can do this."

The truck began to tilt slowly towards the edge. The snow was starting to melt under the sun's lukewarm rays. As soon as we arrived, I got the boys to work on the Snow Fly's array of gadgets. Alan manned the Grappling hooks while Gordon prepared the Laser torch. Brains had made this pod a multi-purpose tool. It literally came prepared with everything you'd need in a situation like this, That man truly is a genius. Activating the Snow Fly's Plough shield, we got to work on shifting the pile of snow. We unearthed the emergency hatch to the truck, so it was down to Alan to drag it out in one piece. Alan lined up the cable cannon and fired it. The cable snagged the metallic hull.

Alan confirmed the hit. "Okay Virgil, pull away."

"FAB," I replied, shifting the lever into reverse.

Slowly but surely, the power of the Snow Fly dragged the damaged truck away from the edge. It was a bit of a fight at first. Our wheels skidded on the icy ledge a couple of times. It was enough to send my nerves soaring for once. Eventually, we dragged the truck clear but unfortunately, it had been mangled almost beyond recognition. Gordon didn't hesitate. He wanted all of us off of this mountain. He flicked the switch, bringing his laser beam to full power. He aimed a concentrated beam of heat on the door, cutting a fine shape into its structure. Smoke began to seep out of the cracks as his laser melted the metal work.

"That should do the trick." He said, cutting the beam. "That door should disintegrate any second now."

Sure enough, it did just that. Two figures clumsily stumbled out of the smoke. Both of them were stained with blood and soot. Gordon and I left the pod and helped them inside. They coughed violently from the metallic smoke that filled their lungs. The driver tried to warn us of the impending explosion.

"Get...us out of here...now!"

"Hey, you got it, buddy," I replied. "Just take it easy. Alan, give them the oxygen masks."

Spinning us around, we hurried our way down the mountain. As Thunderbird One whizzed past our heads, the ground rocked with a thunderous explosion. The Truck erupted into a ball of flames, forcing the mountains above to dump a wave of snow right on top of us. I didn't fancy being buried under another Avalanche, so I put my foot down. The vibrations grew stronger. I could see the valley dead ahead, but our chances of reaching it were fading fast. A frantic Scott called in to report the situation.

 _"You've got to hurry it up, guys! That Avalanche is almost on top of you. Take a shortcut if you have to!"_

"A shortcut? Of course!" I thought out loud. "Everybody hang tight!"

There was a steep drop down towards the valley and I decided to take it. It was a dangerous risk sure but it meant that we could put distance between us and the Avalanche. Applying the breaks, I wrestled with the controls as we skidded down the incline. Who knew that this pod could ski as well. As we got to the bottom, My heart sank. To our horror, the Avalanche was bearing down on us and Thunderbird Two. I pushed this heap of metal until it began to spark. We were running out of time. As soon as we crawled into the Pod. I carried my legs up to the cockpit. Thirty seconds. The pod was secure and everybody had fastened themselves in their seats. I could hear that terrifying rumbling. We had to blast off now! Ten seconds. I hit the thrusters and achieved lift-off. We were only inches off the ground when the snow hit the valley. If I knew my baby, her stabilizers would hold together. A few seconds later, it was all over. The entire valley had been submerged in snow and rock. I didn't want to think about the what ifs and reported our progress to Scott.

"Thunderbird One from Thunderbird Two. Rescue completed. We'll drop these guys off at the air force hospital and then return to winter base."

" _FAB, Thunderbird Two. Well done. I'll see you there."_

That pretty much covers the event. As soon as we dropped the two men off, we headed back to base. The Russians wanted us to comment on the event, but we didn't really want the publicity. I think they were looking at someone to blame for the accident as they didn't really believe in acts of nature. We returned to our arctic base armed with a new appreciation for mother nature. As for the Snow Fly, she did a real fine job and came away with only minor damage to her laser systems. Brains would soon perfect the pod and unfortunately keep the name too. Eh.. it'll grow on us I suppose. The thing is this isn't the only arctic situation we would face this year. You should stick around, it's a real doozy, but I'll let Gordon tell you it when he's ready. So long folks.

END


	23. Meltdown

**Thunderbirds Are Go!**

 **The Further Adventures**

 **Volume two**

 **by Lee Homer**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved. This new series of one-shot adventures are set in 2068.**

Meltdown

by Gordon Tracy

We hadn't long returned from our arctic tests when this incident happened. Scott decided to take Kayo away for the weekend, placing Virgil in charge. All I wanted to do at the time was bask in the alluring sun, but the winter elements hadn't finished with us yet. Developments of a major crisis were unfolding which meant that we would soon be on a mission. Virgil gathered all of us in the lounge to watch the incident on the news. A GDF submarine which had been on maneuvers in the South Pole suffered a systems failure. It had automatically surfaced into the middle of an ice field, freezing its rotors. The outlook didn't sound too serious that was until the reporter presented the worst part about it.

" _However, the GDF is faced with an even bigger danger. Ecological pollution. It is confirmed that one of the submarine's reactors has been damaged during the failure. The situation is looking bleak as far as we know. Stay tuned for all the latest developments when we have them."_

"Those sailors are either going to suffocate or die from severe radiation exposure." Virgil frowned. "I wish Scott were to make a decision."

"The decision is yours, bro," Alan replied. "It's obvious we need to get out there. We just don't know what equipment to take."

"I have something we could try." Brains spoke up. "I'll assemble it in Pod 3 once we're underway. G-Gordon. You'll be needed to operate it."

"Me?" I asked intrigued. "FAB."

"Okay, Brains you better come with us then. Let's get moving." Virgil acknowledged. "Thunderbird Two is Go!"

As soon as we were on course for the South Pole, Brains opened up about his little invention.

"So go on tell us?" I asked. "What have we got to work with?"

"A hovercraft." Brains replied.

"A hovercraft? Why on Earth did you build one of them things?"

"Now don't dismiss it before you've tried it, G-Gordon. It's the practicality of the hovercraft that will h-help us. It's fast, light and can carry up to twenty people with a trailer attached. I assembled three of them."

"Great. The three of us make a couple of trips to ferry the sailors to safety." Virgil interrupted. "What about the radiation?"

"One of us will have to go in there and spray a chemical sealant on the r-reactor." Brains replied. "The only problem is I don't know how long we'll have until it becomes lethal."

Virgil nodded. "Well, we should be there in Ten minutes. We'll soon find out. I'm pushing Thunderbird Two to the limit here."

We eventually arrived at the danger zone. The all too familiar elements were the first to greet us. The Submarine appeared over the hazy horizon. It looked menacing as anything. While Virgil scouted for a suitable place to land, I accompanied Brains into the pod to set up these hovercraft pods. It only took a matter of minutes to put them all together. Brains really knew what he was doing here! Virgil eventually joined us in the pod donning his protective radiation suit. He briefed us on an update which made this rescue operation easier to handle.

"Okay, I've just been in contact with the Colonel." He said. "Three helijets were able to evacuate the engine crew, but the main personnel chose to remain onboard. I want you both to suit up in anti-radiation suits before we go. Brains, I want you to take care of the damaged reactors while Gordon and I will take care of the remaining personnel. Sound good?"

"FAB, bro," I replied.

"FAB." followed a hesitant Brains. "I hope I have enough sealant to last me.

We set off single file, gliding across the ice sheets towards the submarine. Brains took the lead as it was his job to get onboard first. I stayed on his tail, keeping my eyes on his position. The harsh conditions made it a challenge to keep on course. The winds swept snow and ice all over the place obstructing my view at times. It was really annoying. I hate snow.

When we arrived at the emergency boarding ramp, Brains began to demonstrate his hovercraft even further. It happened to be a giant elevator as well! I pulled alongside, waiting for Virgil to catch up. Brains cabin section ascended to the upper deck of the submarine. I searched around my panel to find the switch that would elevate me. Yeah, he made it that easy...not! It turned out to be a small orange switch that wasn't labeled at all. The mechanism kicked in, elevating me to the deck of the submarine. Brains descended into the submarine while I waited for topside. Virgil eventually emerged from below.

"Okay, let's go." He said, guiding me on inside.

The main officers had barricaded themselves in the Captain's Cabin to shield themselves from radiation. It wasn't a very good strategy but what else could they do? Virgil broke down the door, startling them.

"Keep calm, we're from International Rescue! Follow us to the escape capsules immediately."

The Captain stepped forward. "Thanks for getting here when you did. However, we are running out of time. The main reactor is running away due to the rupture. I don't know how exposed we are already."

"Captain, we'll see to it that you reach the established quarantine zone," Virgil assured him. "Right now, we have a man down in the reactor room who's attending to the ruptures. Now come on, we've got to get everybody out of here."

As I turned to towards the main control room. I could hear the sound of footsteps echoing in the dark. Brains came hurrying into the control cabin with a distressed look on his face.

"Brains, slow down! What's going on!?" I asked, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"I couldn't s-stop the ruptures fully." He said. "B-but I was able to reduce the risk of nuclear contamination. However, the submarine is g-going to explode!"

I looked back at Virgil. He heard everything.

"Alright people, let's move it!" He growled.

I followed everybody up towards the top deck and sprinted towards my capsule. Cramming everyone onboard, I flipped the switch and returned us to the ground. Virgil began to back away from the submarine. He made a Ninety-degree turn and sped for the awaiting services. I then backed away and followed him. As soon as I made it to the quarantine zone, I could see that Brains had made it out too, only he wasn't heading this way. His hovercraft increased it's speed and was now heading in the direction of the sea. We both stood there and watched, hoping that he would make it out of there alive. We soon lost all trace of it when suddenly...

 **KABOOM!**

The whole area shook violently, forcing everyone to the ground. The Ice cracked up everywhere, disrupting the field. Small surges of water rippled amongst the ice chunks. An intense bright light drowned out the horizon. As soon as the light faded, a huge cloud of smoke erupted into the air. As I sat there in the snow dazed and confused, a voice in my head told me that Brains didn't make it. How could anybody survive a blast like that? The ringing in my ears eventually faded and I could hear Virgil, frantically trying to reach brains over his transmitter. The sound of static had never been so irritating.

"Dammit, Brains!" He growled. "You've got to be out there! You couldn't have... you just couldn't have!"

I pulled my brother in for a hug. "Hey come on. This wasn't your fault."

"He's dead. He's dead and it's my fault!" Virgil screamed. "He should have just left the reactor there."

"We both know that he couldn't have done that," I said. "If that Submarine had blown then we all wouldn't be here."

The Captain came over and interrupted us.

"Take a look at this." He said as he handed me his binoculars.

I used them to look out across the destroyed ice field. My eyes widened as my jaw hit the ground. There he was! Brains had made it after all! He lay there unconscious on a chunk of ice. His suit had been damaged, but he appeared to be breathing. Somehow, his fingers were twitching. We had to get out there fast! After letting Virgil see it for himself, we scrambled for Thunderbird Two. With the ice field destroyed, we could only airlift him out of there. Lifting off, Virgil maintained a slow altitude. I prepared the rescue harness while he brought us to a hovering position. The hatch door opened beneath me, revealing the still unconscious Brains. I lowered myself down to him, quickly checking him over for the pulse. Fortunately for him, his pulse remained strong. I secured him into the harness and signaled Virgil to take us home.

I couldn't wait to get out of there. We almost lost a member of the Tracy clan and that was enough for us to handle. As we flew across the ocean towards the island, I called ahead and had Grandma set up the sick room. Brains would spend the next two weeks in the sick room under close observation from the family's doctor. His suit had been damaged but was still able to shield his body from radiation. To this day, we don't know how he managed to survive. We were just lucky that he did. See over the years, Brains always doubted himself and put himself down. He would never accept the fact that he was apart of the family despite the fact that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. He used to get on my nerves now and again but after today, I never ever want to lose him or anyone else.

Sometimes, we take our loved ones for granted. All it takes is a near-death experience to keep us in check and I for one will look at this as a sign. Always appreciate who you have. That's the best I do to end this story with a happier ending. See you later folks.

The End


End file.
